A Separation

In contemporary Tehran, a quiet yet tense world unfolds inside a modest flat where a secular, upper‑middle‑class family lives. The city’s bustling streets and close‑knit neighborhoods provide a backdrop of both modern ambition and lingering tradition, setting a tone that is simultaneously intimate and fraught with unspoken pressures.

• Nader is a caring father and son, torn between his love for his ailing father and his desire to keep his household together. Simin, his wife, dreams of a new life abroad, already holding visas in her hand, and finds the prospect of staying behind increasingly unbearable. Their conflicting aspirations bring the couple to the brink, prompting Simin to seek a divorce—a request that the family court ultimately dismisses, underscoring the legal and cultural constraints that shape their choices.

Their ten‑year‑old daughter, Termeh, faces a heart‑wrenching decision: remain with her father or follow her mother back to her parental home. The situation grows more complex when Nader hires Razieh, a deeply religious woman from a less privileged suburb, to help care for his father during the day. Accompanying her is her young daughter, Somayeh, whose presence adds a subtle contrast between social classes and belief systems, hinting at the delicate balance the family must maintain.

The film drifts through moments of quiet tension, illuminated by the characters’ internal struggles and the ever‑present weight of duty, love, and personal longing. It captures the nuanced interplay of societal expectations and private desires, inviting the audience to contemplate how ordinary lives can become entangled in larger questions of identity, responsibility, and the cost of choices left unmade.

Last Updated: August 10, 2025 at 07:27