A Separation Inside Iranian Law

A Divorce Request That Fails in Court

Asghar Farhadi wrote and directed this 2011 Iranian drama in Persian, with a running time of 123 minutes. It centers on Nader and Simin, an upper-middle-class couple in a Tehran flat, and their 10-year-old daughter Termeh, played by Sarina Farhadi opposite Leila Hatami and Peyman Moaadi. Simin has prepared visas and wants the whole family to leave Iran. Nader wants to stay to care for his father, who lives with them and has Alzheimer's disease. When Simin files for divorce, the family court finds the grounds insufficient and rejects the application. Simin moves back to her parents' home while Termeh stays with her father. You see from the first scene that legal language frames private wishes, and that a judge can keep a marriage in place even after trust has gone.

Why Does a Caregiver Enter the Story?

Nader hires Razieh, played by Sareh Bayat, to look after his father during the day. She is described as deeply religious, from a poor and distant suburb, and she arrives each day with her young daughter Somayeh. The work proves hard, in particular because the old man, played by Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, has become incontinent. One day he slips out and wanders into the street while Razieh and Somayeh are busy, and Razieh runs through traffic to bring him back. You can point your group to this stretch because it shows care as physical labor, not good intentions. The next day Nader and Termeh come home early and find the old man lying unconscious on the floor in his bedroom, tied to the bed, while Razieh and Somayeh are out. Razieh says she had urgent personal business. The Wikipedia page does not list a hall rental price for showing this kind of film.

A Push, a Loss, and Two Versions

The argument that follows turns on money and force. Nader accuses Razieh of neglecting his father and stealing cash that Simin had in fact used to pay movers. When Razieh refuses to leave until she is paid, he pushes her out of the flat and she apparently falls down a flight of steps. Later Nader and Simin learn that Razieh has suffered a miscarriage. If Nader knew of the pregnancy and caused the loss, he could face a charge of murder under the legal reasoning presented in the story. You should keep both timelines visible for your audience. Razieh confesses to Simin that, the day before the push, she was hit by a car while fetching the old man, felt pain that night, and went out to see a doctor on the day of the confrontation. Nader claims the railing would have protected her from a fall down the steps. Neither account cancels the other, which is why the film invites discussion.

What Does the Judge Have to Decide?

The case comes before a criminal judge, played by Babak Karimi, with Nader, Simin and Termeh on one side and Razieh and her husband Hodjat, played by Shahab Hosseini, on the other. Hodjat is hot-tempered, embittered by the loss of his longtime job as a cobbler, pressed by creditors, and more than once he tries to assault Nader. Razieh says Nader knew of her pregnancy because he overheard her talk in the flat with Termeh's teacher, Mrs. Ghahraei, played by Merila Zarei, who recommended a doctor. Nader denies it and the teacher testifies in his support. Termeh finds reasons to doubt that version, Nader at last admits to her that he lied for her sake and for his father because he cannot go to prison, and the teacher withdraws her evidence. You can read the detailed credits and plot to track who says what in each hearing. To protect her father, Termeh then tells the judge that he did not know of the pregnancy until she told him. You are asked to watch how testimony shifts under family loyalty.

Class, Faith and Pressure Around the Oath

The dispute also pits a secular middle-class household in upheaval against an impoverished religious household, with gender, class, justice and honor all in play. Simin fears for Termeh's safety as Hodjat turns violent and she persuades Nader to make a payment to Hodjat. Nader first asks Razieh to swear on the Qur'an that he caused her miscarriage. She cannot do so. Hodjat cannot force her and begins hitting himself in a rage. You can use this scene to talk about belief as a limit, not as decoration. Razieh will not turn an uncertain claim into a sacred certainty, even for money her family needs. Later the family court grants Nader and Simin a divorce. In the final image they wait separately outside the court while Termeh tells the judge which parent she chooses to live with. No answer is shown, so your viewers must sit with the undecided moment.

How the Film Reached Berlin and Beyond

The concept grew from personal experiences and abstract images he had held in mind for some time, then was written and financed quickly about a year before the premiere once Farhadi decided to proceed. He described it as the logical follow-up to About Elly, and like his last three films it was made without government support, with financing aided by the success of About Elly and with 25,000 dollars in support from the Motion Picture Association APSA Academy Film Fund. In September 2010 the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance banned the shoot after an acceptance speech in which Farhadi supported exiled filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and imprisoned filmmaker Jafar Panahi, both linked to the Green Movement. The ban was lifted in early October after Farhadi said he had been misperceived and apologized. The film premiered on 9 February 2011 at the 29th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran and played six days later in Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. Mahmoud Kalari was the cinematographer, Hayedeh Safiyari edited, Sattar Oraki composed the music, and Filmiran distributed in Iran while Artificial Eye acquired United Kingdom rights. The budget is listed as 800,000 dollars and worldwide gross at 24.4 million dollars, with more than 24 million dollars reported as of 17 April 2014.

How to Hold the Room Without Taking Sides

The honors help explain why societies keep screening it. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, the first win for Iran in that category, plus the Golden Bear for Best Film and Silver Bears for the actresses and the actors at Berlin, the first Golden Bear for Iran, plus the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Feature Film. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the first non-English film in five years to reach that category. Critics noted its moral complexity and investigative pacing, its portrait of social and religious divisions, and performances of unusual depth, with a 99 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 176 reviews averaging 8.90 out of 10 and a score of 95 on Metacritic from 41 reviews. For your planning, keep the introduction factual and short, then let the two households present their own reasons. The companion entry on surveillance and family pressure can help you frame quiet observation, and the rules for small hall rights can help you clear permission before you announce anything. Ask your viewers to name one fact each character gets right and one fact each character avoids, then stop on time and let the ending stay open.

The Wikipedia page for A Separation is an encyclopedia entry on the 2011 film. There you will find the full plot, the cast with roles, production and release history, box office figures, critical response with review excerpts, lists of awards and top-ten placements, and publication details for further checking. You can open it before your meeting to confirm names, dates and award titles for your handout.