The Salesman (2016) (Persian Language)

Review

125min

Genre:      Drama, Mystery

Director:   Asghar Farhadi

Cast:        Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi…and more

Writer:     Asghar Farhadi

-Synopsis-

Writer/director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, The Past) recent Oscar-winning foreign language drama tells the story of the breakdown of a middle-class Iranian couple’s relationship after a mysterious and harrowing trauma, as they begin an amateur run of Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’.

After the controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s travel ban affecting the film’s Academy Award nomination and the attendance of its filmmakers—and of course its subsequent win for best foreign language film—writer/director Asghar Farhadi’s second Oscar-winning film finally hits British screens as he displays his adeptness at complex relationship drama and personal tragedy, for yet another quintessentially Iranian yet globally resonant realist human drama.

Shahab Hosseini stars as schoolteacher and amateur actor ‘Emad’ in modern-day Tehran, and Taraneh Alidoosti as his wife and fellow thespian ‘Rana’, whose lives take a dark turn after they’re forced out of their condemned building only for ‘Rana’ to become a victim of a home invasion in their new place. With his wife traumatised and him feeling both rage and helplessness, ‘Emad’ becomes consumed with tracking down the mysterious assailant—a path which will test their relationship and outside friendships . . . along with his moral compass.

‘The Salesman’ (or Forushande in Persian) may be set in the context of Iranian society and may make a few subtle references to country’s relationship with the West, but this is really a broad human story populated by flawed, honest and relatable characters like you’ll find throughout world cinema. Although the film tentatively shares some themes with the Arthur Miller play after which it’s named—e.g. a man’s despair and disillusionment with life, a sense of helplessness and the weight of unaddressed emotions—this is mostly a narrative counterpoint to the main story in the movie, and somewhere ‘Emad’ and ‘Rana’ can project their relationship by playing the stageplay’s two leads the ‘Lomans’.

Despite the traumatising event on which the drama turns, and which causes the central relationship to slip into crisis, this isn’t a particularly edgy melodrama with overreacting characters or high drama. Instead Farhadi opts for a more nuanced and realistic approach, balancing the mystery element of finding an elusive culprit and ‘Emad’s’ need for revenge with the devastating effect of her ordeal on ‘Rana’s’ psyche—and the effect all of this has on their relationship and everyday life.

After losing momentum through a slightly laboured middle section, the film comes to life for a revelatory third act which puts all the preceding drama in context and plunges both the characters and the audience into a moral quandary—leaving you questioning what you would do in the same situation while trading on the biblical concept of ‘let him who is without sin cast the first stone’. By putting forth the inconvenient notion that a lie can not only be necessary but also noble, the film shows its strength as a somewhat morally ambiguous drama which avoids black & white ethics for a more realistic grey area, leaving both the characters and the audience in emotional limbo . . . even after the credits roll.

Ultimately ‘The Salesman’ is strongest as a frank and often uncomfortable but engrossing relationship drama—cloaked in pseudo Greek tragedy—which leaves the audience with more questions than answers and simultaneously judging and empathising with every character involved. And it’s a good thing that Farhadi can rely on a talented duo on lead actors to subtly deliver his vision, because despite its merits ‘The Salesman’ is by no means his finest piece of work—failing to be as moving, complex or innovative as his previous films—and for us a curious choice for ‘best foreign language film’ at the recent Oscars, particularly when you consider the alternatives . . . plus the many eligible and far more memorable films not even nominated.

The Bottom Line…

While it might not be as emotionally resonant or reach the complex dramatic heights of his previous work, ‘The Salesman’ is still another challenging and compelling human drama from Asghar Farhadi, which leaves the audience asking questions rather than providing them with convenient answers—a subtle revenge drama and nuanced tragedy that’s just about elevated beyond a decent foreign language indie by the two leads and regular Farhadi collaborators.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2015) (Persian Language)

On the dark and desolate streets of the “Iranian” town of “Bad City”, young Arash is stuck in a life surrounded by loneliness and sin when he forms an unlikely relationship with a mysterious girl, little does he now that she’s a Hijab headscarf-wearing vampire stalking the men of Bad City in this self-proclaimed “First Iranian Vampire-Western”.

Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour and starring Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi and Mozhan Marnò among others.

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