A Separation (2011)

The critic calls it a superb drama, noting its empathy for competing points of view. It is singled out for recognizing how facts, lies and self-interest are tangled without providing definitive statements.

The critic highlights the film’s profound moral depth and restraint, presenting a series of conundrums in a style close to documentary that makes viewers reconsider actions and consequences. The universal story of a child torn between separating parents is engrossing and wrenching.

The critic praises Farhadi as a major new auteur whose film stands out for its emotional and moral complexity, with sympathies shifting fluidly among characters in a layered domestic and class drama. The intricate staging with glass partitions and mobile camerawork is singled out as matching the story's shifting perspectives.

This powerful, complex Iranian drama centres on a conflict that cuts across boundaries of gender and class. Farhadi transforms an ugly quarrel into a contemporary tragedy, with the children bearing the heaviest burden.

The critic praises Farhadi’s densely plotted, morally complex drama that exposes divisions throughout Iranian society through a legal struggle sparked by divorce and family obligations. Restless camerawork highlights unspoken suspicions in a nation far from united.

The critic calls it a gripping moral and social drama that lifts Farhadi to the front rank of contemporary world directors. They single out the way it keeps compassion for the two children afloat while raising complex questions of responsibility and truth.

The critic finds it a deceptively powerful and gripping drama by one of Iran’s finest directors. They single out the precision of Farhadi’s writing, the spryness of his direction and the generosity of his outlook.

The critic praises the film as lively and suspenseful drama and debate that plunges viewers into life in Tehran with an urgent sense of reality. They single out its strong writing, characterisation, acting and morally teasing dynamic.

The critic finds the opening scene audacious but laments that the rest of the film loses visual tension and becomes a schematic collection of events without symbol, resonance or imagination. It singles out the plot-driven moral puzzles arising from the separation.

The critic finds it a tensely involving Iranian drama with niche potential. It is praised for its moral, psychological and social complexity that brings Iranian society into focus without taking sides with any characters.

The critic praises the film's rigorous honesty about the difficulties of truth and its portrait of a society divided by sex, generation, religion and class. It singles out the subtlety of the performances, particularly the quiet, watchful portrayal by the young daughter.

The critic calls it the year's finest example of complex, humanistic Iranian filmmaking, highlighting Farhadi's Hitchcockian suspense and the faultless cast. The sympathetic, recognisable portrayal of modern Iranians navigating class, religion, family and responsibility is singled out for praise.

The film draws viewers into a complex, believable scenario of marital and social tensions in contemporary Iran, inviting judgment while showing that nothing is simple. It is well acted and thoughtful, using a realistically messy plot to explore strong central themes of class, honor, and moral ambiguity in a society in flux.