A Separation

A SEPARATION (2011) - Nov. 12, 2011
About a recently separated man who finds himself in trouble when he shoves a woman who had been caring for his father, this was a really well made film.  Though it starts of like a fairly typical foreign film festival type of move -- plotless, with handheld, documentary-style cinematography -- the film gets much more interesting as it goes along, and I was downright riveted for the last hour or so.  The aforementioned documentary-style direction, combined with the uniformly superb performances, makes the film feel remarkably immediate and real.  The movie was filled with really interesting, nuanced characters; there's no good guy or bad guy here -- everyone has their side of the story, and everyone thinks they're doing the right thing.  It's fascinating watching as the almost Rashomon-esque layers of truth get peeled back.  The film also offers a a really interesting glimpse at modern-day Iran.  I pretty much loved it.  ****