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A Separation

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A Separation

PG-13

Released Dec 30, 2011

2h 3m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

177 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

When Nader (Payman Maadi), a bank employee, refuses to leave Tehran, his wife, Simin (Leila Hatami) sues for divorce in the hope that she can make a better life for their young daughter abroad. Needing someone to care for his senile father while he's at work, Nader hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a married woman whose chador hides her pregnancy. One day, after becoming angry with Razieh, Nader shoves her, and she has a miscarriage, leading Razieh's husband to take Nader to court.

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Critics Consensus

Morally complex, suspenseful, and consistently involving, A Separation captures the messiness of a dissolving relationship with keen insight and searing intensity.

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David Thomson

The New Republic

You cannot watch the film without feeling kinship with the characters and admitting their decency as well as their mistakes.

Jun 19, 2013

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Jon Frosch

The Atlantic

Dynamically shot and paced like a thriller, the film has the density and moral prickliness of a good novel.

Mar 7, 2012

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Stephanie Zacharek

Movieline

Nothing earth-shattering happens in A Separation, but the straightforwardness of this view of a disintegrating marriage, set in the context of complicated cultural and religious mors, is dramatic by itself.

Rated: 8.5/10

Mar 6, 2012

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Angelos Koutsourakis

PopMatters

Equally important is that the film avoids oversimplistic condemnations of the Iranian regime, showing that oppression can be propagated unconsciously, even by those who are at the bottom of society.

Rated: 7/10

Feb 23, 2024

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

It touches on a reality of life that transcends any political or cultural barrier while also offering some thought-provoking insight into the religious laws and social structure of that part of the world.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 19, 2022

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A Separation stimulates discussion about how the characters behave and how we feel about their choices.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 21, 2022

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Mohamed G

A Separation is without a doubt the best social drama I've had the privilege of viewing. Masterclass in storytelling, honest, raw, and emotionally subtle. The film doesn't rely on melodramatic plot twists or flashy cinematography. Instead, it pulls you in quietly into an intensely human conflict, where every character is real, flawed, and achingly relatable ... it explores morality, justice, family, and pride in a way that lingers long after the credits roll. Direction is subtle yet powerful, and the performances are astonishingly authentic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/19/25

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Fariba A

An absolute masterpiece. so many layers. at the end we should be the judge! but who are we to judge these people. They are all doing the right thing in their own way!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/16/24

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Faiz D

Brilliant story and absolutely amazing performances. A Separation is a great movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/29/24

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Gary K

A snooze fest. Didn’t care about any of the characters. Too long by far. One has to be seriously in love with anything Iranian or be able to speak Farsi in order to enjoy this one. How this is getting such good reviews is a mystery to me.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/30/24

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Dani G

Intense family drama examining an unusual couples situation for a country like Iran. Screenplay, direction, acting, storytelling: all first level.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/29/24

Full Review

Yash B

"A Separation" reminded me about how gripping, thought-provoking, and chilling quiet dramatic films can be. This movie features story elements that are genuinely hard to watch, but the story is compelling and fascinating. Characters all make mistakes and feel human, and somehow everyone feels right and wrong in their own way at some point. It is a movie that throws the viewer into a sad situation and then shows the devastating aftermath of it. Overall, this is a tough movie to get through as it is often emotionally draining and features a lot of unfortunate moments, but it is riveting and compelling and genuinely kept me completely engaged while watching it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/07/24

Full Review

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Asghar Farhadi

Director

Peyman Moaadi

Nader

Leila Hatami

Simin

Sareh Bayat

Razieh

Shahab Hosseini

Hodjat

Merila Zare'i

Miss Ghahraii

Critics Consensus: Streep Carries The Iron Lady

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Synopsis

When Nader (Payman Maadi), a bank employee, refuses to leave Tehran, his wife, Simin (Leila Hatami) sues for divorce in the hope that she can make a better life for their young daughter abroad. Needing someone to care for his senile father while he's at work, Nader hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a married woman whose chador hides her pregnancy. One day, after becoming angry with Razieh, Nader shoves her, and she has a miscarriage, leading Razieh's husband to take Nader to court.

Director: Asghar Farhadi
Producer: Negar Eskandarfar, Asghar Farhadi
Screenwriter: Asghar Farhadi
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Asghar Farhadi
Rating: PG-13 (Mature Thematic Material)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Persian
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 30, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $331.7K
Runtime: 2h 3m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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