Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

A Separation Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 22, 2012

Winner of Golden Bear Award for Best Film and Silver Bear Award for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's "Jodaeiye Nader az Simin" a.k.a. "A Separation" (2011) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer, two interviews with director Asghar Farhadi, and an interview with actress Leila Hatami. In Persian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Where do we go from here?

After 14 years of marriage, Simin (Leila Hatami, Leila, The Deserted Station) and Nader (Peyman Moadi) have decided to part ways. Simin wants to leave Iran and look for a better life abroad, but she also wants her 11-year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) to come with her. Nader has decided to stay and take care of his elderly father (Ali Asghar-Shahbazi), who is struggling with Alzheimer's disease. He also wants Termeh to stay with him. Simin and Nadir are still in love but both have realized that love alone isn’t enough to keep them together.

After Simin moves to her parents, Nader hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a young and quiet woman, to look after his father. She is recommended to him by a good friend of Simin. Razieh arrives in Nader’s home but quickly discovers that she will have to do a lot more than she has been told.

Razien also has problems of her own. Her husband, Hodjat (Shahab Hosseini, Heartbroken), owes money and his creditors have threatened to put him in prison if he does not pay his debts soon. This is why she has secretly started working. But she shouldn’t have because she is pregnant and this is the time when she must let her body rest.

Things get complicated when Nader and Razieh have a misunderstanding that leads to a terrible tragedy. Nader is quickly charged with murder, while Hodjat learns that Razieh has been trying to earn money behind his back. Running out of time, Nader - who must find someone to ‘vouch’ for him or otherwise he would end up in prison - decides to prove that he is innocent, while Razieh realizes that the tragedy could be her and Hodjat’s last chance to rebuild their marriage.

Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation is a not a socio-political study, but it is without a doubt one of the most illuminating films about life in urban Iran from recent years. It is a fascinating film to behold because it is never quite clear in it who is right or wrong. The dilemmas are certainly familiar but the environment and its restrictions aren’t.

The film’s heart is filled with quiet anger - law, justice, and morality are twisted in such unbelievable ways that each of the main protagonists is eventually forced to compromise and endure humiliation. Yet instead of pointing fingers the film attempts to clarify why the humiliation is inevitable. This may seem strange at first, but once the main protagonists’ dilemmas are identified it all begins to make sense.

The film is intense and suspenseful but realistic. Even its most crucial sequences are free of melodrama. When the two families clash, for instance, it is easy to understand what motivates their extreme reactions. However, the chaos surrounding them is nothing short of surreal.

Moadi is excellent as the loving father and son who suddenly realizes that justice means different things to different people. Hosseini’s angry outbursts are also incredibly realistic. Bayat also delivers a memorable performance as the pious wife. The film, however, belongs to the stunningly beautiful and elegant Hatami, who wants to leave behind the chaos but cannot leave her husband and daughter.

* In 2011, A Separation won Golden Bear Award for Best Film and Silver Bear Award for Best Actor (Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini) and Best Actress (Sareh Bayat, Leila Hatami). The film also won Best Foreign Independent Film Award at the British Independent Film Awards.

A Separation Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original apsect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Asghar Farhadi's A Separation arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

Detail is pleasing throughout the entire film. Where there is plenty of natural light, for instance, most close-ups look excellent. The outdoor scenes also convey pleasing fluidity. Contrast levels are stable and clarity very good. Color reproduction is also convincing - there is a wide range of very warm and natural blues, greens, light browns and grays. This being said, there are traces of extremely mild denoising (see screencapture #16) that occasionally pop up here and there. The integrity of the film, however, is never seriously affected. On the contrary, when projected the film boasts a pleasing organic look and remains notably tight around the edges. Finally, there are no serious banding or aliasing patterns to report in this review. (Note: This is Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

A Separation Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Persian LPCM 2.0 and Persian DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

I opted to view the film with the Persian LPCM 2.0 track and was very pleased with it. Though the range of nuanced dynamics is extremely limited - the only decent dynamic movement is when Sattar Oraki's score comes alive - the audio has good depth and fluidity. Obviously, the intent was to have a raw and realistic sound and these are the exact qualities which the loseless track highlights. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow.

A Separation Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview - in this video interview, director Asghar Farhadi discusses his career as a director and writer and talks about the complex dilemmas the characters in his films face. In French and Persian, with optional English subtitles

• Asghar Farhadi Talks About A Separation - in this video interview, director Asghar Farhadi discusses discusses A Separation and its conflicts, the main characters, how specific sequences were shot, etc. In Persian, with optional English subtitles. (15 min, PAL).

• Interview with Leila Hatami - in this video interview, actress Leila Hatami, who plays Simin in A Separation, talks about her childhood and fascination with cinema and acting. The actress also comments on her work in A Separation. In French, with optional English subtitles. (9 min, PAL).

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for A Separation. In Persian, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

A Separation Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Asghar Farhadi's A Separation is one of the most illuminating films about life in urban Iran that I have ever seen. It is wonderfully directed and terrifically acted. British distributors Artificial Eye's presentation of the film is very good. If you reside in a Region-A territory, however, and wish to add the Blu-ray disc to your library, please keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.