Artificial Eye will release festival sensation, A Separation, on DVD and Blu-ray October 24. Winner of the Golden Bear in Berlin this year, it’s described as “a suspenseful and intelligent drama detailing the fractures and tensions at the heart of Iranian society.” Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere said it was “far and away the finest film I’ve seen at the 2011 Telluride Film Festival…and I didn’t even see the first 40 minutes’ worth.”
But soon after I slipped into the Chuck Jones theatre early yesterday afternoon I knew I was in the presence of something genuine, compassionate, complex and unflinching. This Iranian film is affecting and profound in a way that transcends nationality and culture and any other obstacle you can think of.
A Separation will screen at the New York Film Festival October 1, and Sony Pictures Classics gives it a limited run on December 30. But for those of you with multi-region DVD or Blu-ray players, the Artificial Eye release offers a rare chance for an early look. Synopsis and poster after the cut.
Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, the film boasts a range of superb performances from the ensemble cast who collectively received the Silver Bears for both Best Actor and Best Actress at the Berlinale. The compelling narrative is driven by a taut and finely written script rooted in the particular of Iranian society but which transcends its setting to create a stunning morality play with universal resonance.
When his wife (Leila Hatami) leaves him, Nader (Peyman Moadi) hires a young woman (Sareh Bayat) to take care of his suffering father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi). But he doesn’t know his new maid is not only pregnant, but also working without her unstable husband’s (Shahab Hosseini) permission. Soon, Nader finds himself entangled in a web of lies manipulation and public confrontations. A Separation is the first ever Iranian film to be awarded the Golden Bear.