Dir: Asghar Farhadi. Starring: Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti, Babak Karimi, Mina Sadati. 12A cert, 125 mins.
The first time he won an Oscar, for 2011's A Separation, Asghar Farhadi dedicated it on stage to the people of Iran, whose cinema had never been accorded this honour before. The second time, because of Trump's travel ban, he was theoretically restricted from attending, and decided to boycott the ceremony even if an exception were made. When he won, he had a letter read out by the space explorer Anousheh Ansari, referring to the "inhumane law" that had caused his absence.
A Separation was the film that propelled Farhadi to the forefront of global art cinema, as a name to conjure with or proudly grace any major festival’s competition slate. His two films since, 2013’s The Past and now The Salesman, have been similarly tangled skeins of domestic intrigue, the cinematic equivalent of what Eugène Scribe called “the well-made play”.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbHLnp6rmaCde6S7ja6iaJ6Zobq0e5FpaG9nYGp8c36OrZ%2BeZaOWuaa%2FzJqlZqGjYsGztc%2BpnJ1lpaV6o8WMraaoZZ2Wu7p50q6ZqaSfqcBueYyrnK%2Bhlax8