On the 31st day of my 34 Days of Oscar, I saw the movie "A Separation". This Iranian movie is nominated for Best Foreign Film and Best Original Screenplay at this year's Academy Awards."A Separation" opens with the two main characters, Nader and Simin in a divorce court hearing. Simin wants a divorce so she can leave the country with their daughter Termeh, but Nader's father has Alzheimer's disease and wants his family to stay in Iran. Nader doesn't care if Simin wants to leave, but he won't allow her to take his daughter away too. Since the judge won't allow the divorce, Simin separates from Nader and goes to live with her mother in another part of town. Nader hires a housekeeper, Razieh, to take care of his elderly father while he is at work and Termeh is at school. A few days later, Nader comes home early and finds 
Razieh gone and his father partially tied to his bed and close to death. When Razieh comes back, Nader is furious and throws the housekeeper out of the house. Later that evening, Nader finds that the housekeeper is in the hospital and has had a miscarriage. Surprised to discover that Razheh was pregnant, he is even more shocked when he is arrested and charged the next day with the murder of his housekeeper's unborn child. Over the next few weeks, Nader has to prove his innocence, take care of his father and keep Simin from using this to her advantage and leave forever with his daughter.
I thought "A Separation" was a well made, tight suspenseful drama. Peyman Maadi, who plays Nader, gave a really great acting performance and conveyed every emotion that Nader was going through sometimes with just a hint of anger or sadness in his eyes. Leila Hatami also gave a good performance as Simin. She was a strong-willed but sensitive woman who just wants Nader to fight for her, but is beginning to understand that he is too proud and stubborn to ever do that. I thought the Academy Award nominated screenplay nomination was very well deserved. The plot took many twists and turns and you never knew how the story would end. At first I wasn't a fan of the somewhat ambigious ending but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
Razieh gone and his father partially tied to his bed and close to death. When Razieh comes back, Nader is furious and throws the housekeeper out of the house. Later that evening, Nader finds that the housekeeper is in the hospital and has had a miscarriage. Surprised to discover that Razheh was pregnant, he is even more shocked when he is arrested and charged the next day with the murder of his housekeeper's unborn child. Over the next few weeks, Nader has to prove his innocence, take care of his father and keep Simin from using this to her advantage and leave forever with his daughter.
I thought "A Separation" was a well made, tight suspenseful drama. Peyman Maadi, who plays Nader, gave a really great acting performance and conveyed every emotion that Nader was going through sometimes with just a hint of anger or sadness in his eyes. Leila Hatami also gave a good performance as Simin. She was a strong-willed but sensitive woman who just wants Nader to fight for her, but is beginning to understand that he is too proud and stubborn to ever do that. I thought the Academy Award nominated screenplay nomination was very well deserved. The plot took many twists and turns and you never knew how the story would end. At first I wasn't a fan of the somewhat ambigious ending but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
Overall, I give "A Separation" 4 out of 5 stars. It was a well crafted and acted film that deserves the nominations it received. It gave an interesting glimpse into everyday life in Iran that I found surprising because of it's normality. This was a well made film that has a good chance of winning that Academy Award for Best Foreign Film on Sunday.
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