Berlin 2011 Review: Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin

By Robert Beames / February 17, 2011

rating: 5

We're past the halfway mark now at this the 61st Berlinale and I've seen ten of the sixteen films competing for the Golden Bear. Well, it looks like we could finally have something like a worthy winner: the Iranian drama Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin (Nader and Simin, A Separation) directed by Asghar Farhadi. The story of a modern middle class couple who file for divorce at the start of the film because the wife, Simin (Leila Hatami), would like to leave the country with their daughter whilst Nader (Peyman Moadi) wants to stay and care for his Altzheimer's suffering father. Divorce is refused by the family court judge who rules that the reason is too trivial - Simin herself admits Nader is a "good man". So instead she separates from Nader and moves in with her parents, leaving her husband in search of someone to look after his father during the week. He comes to employ a poor and devoutly religious maid, Razieh (Sareh Bayat), who undertakes the job without her unemployed husband's knowledge - socially and culturally significant in the Islamic world - but she struggles with the work, her religious conviction causing her to neglect the enfeebled man on several occasions (she can't clean and change him when he soils himself without seeking religious counsel). After Nader returns early one day to find that his father has been left home alone, and tied to the bed by his wrist, he begins a heated row with Razieh which ends in harrowing tragedy and shatters everyone's lives. To elaborate much more on the plot and the nature of the tragedy would be to say to much. Instead I'll just impart that the film made me cry at several times throughout, though it is never manipulative or cloying at any point. But I also don't need to elaborate because the film's central tragedy is essentially a MacGuffin designed to serve a story of incredible moral complexity. Nobody is essentially right or wrong and yet everybody is. It really does depend on your outlook and it is thanks to the strong writing of Farhadi, as well as the fine ensemble cast, that ensures the characters are fully-rounded human beings. As we experience a bitter court battle between two broken families from different stratas of modern Iranian life, we also see the internal contradictions and divides that exist in wider Iranian society - between the rich and poor and the deeply religious and the less religious. The film deals with all this in an entertaining way too, as it's really deftly paced and never lingers on anything for an unduly long period of time, unlike a lot of the current crop of "slow cinema". There are loud disagreements, fights and life and death moments in a film which is quite tense and thrilling in some places. It feels like there is always a lot at stake and you're not sure which side you want to "win". The film is also ingeniously shot and beautifully photographed. The opening divorce hearing is seen from the point of view of the judge as we are left to coldly assess these people we haven't yet met - a fitting way for a film about morality to begin, especially one which spends a lot of time on the other side of the court. It is as accomplished as this right up to its pitch perfect final shots, which again see us assume the role of judge with the stakes raised. Farhadi is also a master of using the space and staging of the piece to reflect the characters' growing feelings of isolation and at other times he is even a little Hitchcockian in the way that he builds up suspense before a reveal. Nader and Simin is a tightly made ensemble piece that is as enthralling as it is tear-inducing. It is quite simply the best film I have seen so far this year and the first film to really knock me for six at this festival. A human story of great social relevance as well as unmatched depth of feeling. Sincere, passionate and intelligent. As an epilogue, Nader and Samin, A Separation would perhaps make an even more fitting Golden Bear winner this year, as the festival honours Farhadi's jailed friend and compatriot Jafar Panahi - in December banned for twenty years from all filmmaking for expressing critical views towards his government. The film is strong enough that it doesn't need this political leg up, but I can't see it hurting the film's chances.