2018 Cannes Marathon: The Salesman

(Winner of the Best Screenplay Prize to Asghar Farhadi and Best Actor Prize to Shahab Hosseini at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, The Salesman is the story of a married couple who stage their version of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman when the wife is assaulted at their new apartment prompting her husband to find out who assaulted her. The film is an exploration of a couple whose marriage is put to the test following an incident that has shaken both of them prompting to find answers as well as some form of resolution. Starring Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti. The Salesman is a rapturous and eerie film from Asghar Farhadi.

The film revolves a married couple who are staging their interpretation of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman as their apartment home building suffers a collapse as they try to find a new home where a fellow actor gives them a temporary apartment that eventually goes wrong when the wife had been assaulted while her husband was about to return home. It’s a film that plays into a man trying to find out who assaulted his wife as she is going through post-traumatic stress disorder which would affect her work in the play. Asghar Farhadi’s script follow the life of Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) who both work as actors in the play while Emad also works as a professor at a nearby university. With the help of their friend and actor Babak (Babak Karimi), Emad and Rana is given a temporary home but there’s a room filled with belongings to a previous tenant who hasn’t returned to get her belongings.

When Rana is attacked and left with a major cut on her head, Emad goes on this search that is the bulk of the film’s second act that is intercut with the performance of Death of a Salesman from Emad, Rana, and other actors which would parallel with the struggles that Emad and Rana are dealing with. Especially in the way Emad feels humiliated for not being there when his wife is attacked as well as unable to help her as she deals with the trauma of her attack. The search for her attacker becomes an obsession as he turns to a student whose father used to work for the police to track down a man who owned the delivery truck that had been parked on the night of the attack. Upon learning the identity of Rana’s attacker, things eventually become problematic.

Farhadi’s direction is definitely intoxicating in terms of the way he approaches theatricality in a country like Iran and the parallels it would have for this couple. Shot on location in Tehran, Farhadi doesn’t go for any kind of familiar locations or certain landmarks but rather set the film entirely in rural areas or in highways to play into a couple that is adjusting to their new situation. The film opens with Emad and Rana dealing with the impending collapse of their apartment as they try to get as many tenants out as it’s shot in one entire take with a hand-held tracking shot to capture the chaos and fear among the people. Then it cuts to Emad and Rana rehearsing with other actors in a theater as Farhadi maintains an intimacy into the staging as it show the actors wanting to create something that is faithful to Miller’s play but provide their own surroundings to make it relatable to their audience. The scenes of the performance of the play are interesting as it showcases the range of emotions from Emad, Rana, and the other actors as it would carry into what is happening into Emad and Rana’s real life as they struggle with Rana’s assault.

Farhadi doesn’t use a lot of wide shots except for a few scenes outside of the apartment or in a patio to get a look in the city as he emphasizes more on close-ups and medium shots. Notably in scenes that play into Emad’s own growing discomfort as there is a bit of humor where he falls asleep in class while his students watch a film as they notice he is asleep. It’s among the few light-hearted moments in the film that include babysitting an actress’ son as they were hoping to watch SpongeBob SquarePants. Still, Farhadi maintains that air of seriousness as it relates to Emad’s search as the third act involves him discovering the identity of the attacker but also some surprising revelations that relates to the previous tenant of the apartment that Emad and Rana live in. Even as it would play into the same paralleling fates that Willy Loman endured in Death of a Salesman where Emad and Rana cope with an event that would shake their marriage. Overall, Farhadi crafts a chilling and evocative film about a couple’s life shaken by an assault from a mysterious man in their new home.

Cinematographer Hossein Jafarian does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as much of it is straightforward for many of the exterior scenes in the day and night with some stylish lighting for the theatrical scenes. Editor Hayedeh Safiyari does brilliant work with the editing as it play into the drama with some jump-cuts in some scenes as it relates to the suspense and drama. Art director Keyvan Moghaddam does amazing work with the look of the theater set for the play in its minimalist format as well as the look of the apartments that the characters live in.

Costume designer Sara Samiee does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the exception of the look of the characters in what they wore for the play. Sound designer Mohammad Reza Delpak and sound editor Reza Narimizadeh do fantastic work with the sound in capturing the sparse atmosphere of the theaters as well as the sounds that occur in and out of the apartment as well as in the streets of Tehran. The film’s music by Sattar Oraki is superb for its mixture of string-based music and accordions as it is largely played in accompaniment for the play on the actual set.

The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles from Sam Valipour as an actress’ young son in Sadra, Mojtaba Pirzadeh as a delivery truck driver that Emad suspects, Mehdi Koushiki as an actress working on the play, Maral Bani Adam as the play’s director Kati, Emad Emami as Emad and Rana’s friend Ali, Mina Sadati as a neighbor, Babak Karimi as an actor named Babak who helps Emad and Rana find a new place to live, and Farid Sajadhosseini as an old man who might now about who assaulted Rana. Taraneh Alidoosti is incredible as Rana as a woman who is attacked while taking a shower as she becomes traumatized by what happened as she copes with the possibility of being attacked again. Finally, there’s Shahab Hosseini in a spectacular performance as Emad as a professor/actor who copes with the attack of his wife as he feels responsible for what happened as he becomes obsessed with finding her attacker and humiliate him in front of everyone where he also deals with the impact of his discovery.

The Salesman is a magnificent film from Asghar Farhadi that features phenomenal performances from Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti. Along with its ensemble cast, eerie premise, and usage of Death of a Salesman to parallel with its main story. The film is truly a gripping and rapturous drama that has elements of suspense as well as the study of a man’s obsession and his own faults in protecting his wife as it relates to the trials and tribulations of the man he plays in Arthur Miller’s play. In the end, The Salesman is an outstanding film from Asghar Farhadi.

Asghar Farhadi Films: (Dancing in the Dust) – (The Beautiful City) – (Fireworks Wednesday) – (About Elly) – A Separation - The Past - (Everybody Knows (2018 film))

© thevoid99 2018

A Separation

Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, A Separation is the story of a middle-class Iranian couple whose separation is halted by various issues as the husband tries to take care of his ailing father while the wife wants to leave Iran with their 11-year old daughter for a better life. The film explores the world of couples whose marriage is in collapse as a woman tries to petition for divorce in a world that is very strict. Starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, and Sarina Farhadi. A Separation is a mesmerizing yet haunting drama from Asghar Farhadi.

With a desire to leave the strict rule of Iran, Simin (Leila Hatami) and Nader (Peyman Moaadi) are set to leave the country with their soon-to-be 11-year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). When Nader’s father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi) is ill with Alzheimer’s and Nader wants to stay to take care of him, Simin is upset leading to a breakdown in their marriage. After trying to go to a judge to petition for divorce, the plan fails as Simin still wants to leave Termeh as they only have 40 days left or they won’t get another chance. Simin leaves to live temporarily with her parents while Nader hires a young pregnant woman named Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to help take of his dad while he is off at work. Yet, Razieh is already a religiously-devout woman living in a poor suburb with a daughter named Somayeh (Kimia Hosseini) as she has to deal with her husband Houjat (Shahab Hosseini).

The job turns out to be a lot for Razieh as things eventually got complicated when Nader’s father walked out of the house wanting to get the newspaper. On the next day, Razieh was out with Somayeh when Nader and Termeh found his dad lying on the floor and his arm tied to the bed. Razieh returns where an argument between her and Nader over lost money and Nader’s dad led to some issues where Razieh was sent to the hospital as Nader and Simin had to deal with Houjat. A court hearing occurs between Nader and Razieh over what happens as Nader faces one-to-three years for the incident as Termeh’s teacher Miss Ghahaeri (Merila Zarei) testifies only to deal with the more unstable Houjat.

Things escalate as Termeh makes her own testimony as Simin decides to make a deal to Houjat for the sake of Termeh. Yet, a discovery about what really happens as well as doubts leave everyone shaken over everything that has happened.

The film is about a couple separating after 14 years where a man needs help to care of his ailing father while the person who would care for him end up getting more than she bargains for leading to a war where the man’s estranged wife has to come in. In the middle of these accusations filled with lies, anger, and motives, a young girl is caught in this war between two different couples as she tries to cope with her parents’ separation. Notably as she has to be involved to try and save her father as she is later torn apart by her own actions.

Films about dissolving couples with a child involved often lead to very dramatic touches that reaches into the heights of melodrama. What Asghar Farhadi creates is not a typical divorce film with a child but rather an exploration into a couple’s dissolving marriage as a man tries to do what is right while his estranged wife later tries to help him out when he’s in danger for the sake of their child. Even more intense is the fact that Nader’s pride is kind of his downfall as he refuses to back down against something he believes he did nothing wrong though he admits he was angry because he was concerned for his father. Though Simin knows why he doesn’t want to leave, she wants to leave to live a better life outside of Iran and give her daughter something much better.

This leaves a character like Termeh to be stuck in the middle despite being much closer to her dad until the complications over his situation with Razieh starts to become complicated as she has to get involved. Farhadi doesn’t create characters who are this or that but rather people who are human where they have good intentions but their motives and feelings end up complicating matters. Notably Razieh who is this very religious woman who becomes more confused by what has happened to her as she seeks some sort of justice. Her husband Houjat wants the same as he also wants money so he can pay off some debt to money lenders. All of this is further complicated by Iranian law as there’s a three-year jail sentence hanging at Nader’s head while more complications are furthered as Simin wants to leave but is running out time as she couldn’t re-apply to leave Iran.

The screenplay that Farhadi creates is truly intoxicating in the way these characters behave and try to figure out everything that is happening as a couple’s marriage is dissolving in front of their daughter’s eyes. Yet, it’s the direction of Farhadi that is very ravishing to watch in the way he presents everything. Shot in a cinema verite style, the film is presented where the camera is at the center of everything that is happening with a lot of hand-held shots to observe the events that unfold throughout the film. Notably as the camera is often inside a car or in the middle of a conversation where it’s always there to see what is happening or looking from afar.

One of Farhadi’s key gifts as a filmmaker is the way he has his actors placed in the frame. Often utilizing some form of two-shots or shots with multiple characters, he’s always trying to observe the drama that happens in the film. Notably in the way he sets up conversations, court room scenes, and other moments where it’s all about the dialogue and the actions that occur in these scenes. The film’s final moments where things start to wind down but also some harrowing revelations start to come out lead to a very powerful and heartbreaking ending as Farhadi presents these last scenes in a very simple composition without doing much but rather just have the camera be placed at this particular moment. Overall, Farhadi creates a truly visceral yet heartbreaking film about divorce and motivations to try and save a family.

Cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari does an excellent job with the film‘s cinematography from the colorful locations of downtown Tehran in the daytime to the nighttime exteriors along with more straightforward interior shots to help intensify the drama. Editor Hayedeh Safiyari does a brilliant job with the editing in utilizing a few jump cuts to keep the film‘s leisured pace going along with some rhythmic cuts to capture the intensity of some of the heavy, dramatic dialogue that occurs in the film. Production designer Keyvan Moghaddam does a nice job with the set pieces created from the middle class home of Nader to the more claustrophobic look of the courtrooms that Nader and Razieh battle at.

Sound designer Mohammed Reza Delpak and sound editor Reza Narimzadeh do some terrific work with the sound to capture the intimacy of the apartment scenes to the more raucous world of the courtroom buildings that is often filled with shouting outside of the courtrooms and such. The film’s score by Sattar Oraki is very good as it only appears in the film’s final credits which is this delicate yet haunting piano piece to emphasize all that had happened in the film.

The film’s ensemble cast is truly incredible for the work that is displayed on screen as it includes some notable small appearances from Babak Karimi as the court interrogator, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh as Simin’s mother, and Ali-Ashgar Shahbazi as Nader’s ailing father who can barely speak. Merila Zarei is very good as Termeh’s tutor Miss Ghahraei who finds herself in an unwanted war while Kimia Hosseini is a delight to watch as Razieh’s daughter Somayeh whom Termeh likes and sympathizes for as she has no idea what is really going on. Shahab Hosseini is excellent as the emotionally-troubled Houjat who is desperate to find justice for what happened to his wife while needing money to pay off debts.

Sareh Bayat is wonderful as the religious Razieh who finds herself in a situation where she becomes a victim as she also seeks justice while later becoming confused over her beliefs as things become complicated. Sarina Farhadi is amazing as the conflicted Termeh who tries to deal with everything that happens while helping her father out where she would be forced to make compromises. Leila Hatami is superb as Simin as she tries to deal with the divorce and her own desires to leave Iran while helping out Nader in his issues as she becomes a woman filled with conflict. Finally, there’s Peyman Moaadi in a remarkable performance as Nader where Moaadi brings a very compelling approach to a man that wants to protect his daughter and deal with all sorts of trouble as Moaadi displays great vulnerability to his character.

A Separation is a rich yet harrowing film from Asghar Farhadi that features towering performances from Leila Hatami and Peyman Moaadi. The film is definitely unlike a lot of divorce and courtroom dramas due to the moral and human conflicts that occur in a world that is foreign to Western audiences. It’s also a film that indicates how far Iranian cinema can go beyond the limitations of its politics and religion without creating some form of stereotypes in its characters without also making them into saints. In the end, A Separation is a truly powerful drama from Asghar Farhadi.

Asghar Farhadi Films: (Dancing in the Dust) - (The Beautiful City) - (Fireworks Wednesday) - (About Elly) - The Past - The Salesman - (Everybody Knows (2018 film))

© thevoid99 2012