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The Salesman, 2016
Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) are a couple living together and performing together in a production of Death of a Salesman. Forced to relocate to a new apartment when their old place becomes structurally unsafe, a tragic misunderstanding leaves Rana alone in their home where she is attacked by an assailant. As Rana struggles to put the experience behind her, Emad becomes obsessed with tracking down her attacker.
This is a compelling, 360-degree examination of the way that a single tragedy can unfurl into a series of hurtful moments both large and small.
There's a tricky line to walk in the way that this story is told, namely that the thriller/mystery aspect of things---Emad's investigation---is naturally a more interesting storyline from a narrative point of view. His search for his wife's attacker mirror's our own desire to see justice done and hits at our very human desire to know and understand what happened.
But thankfully, an equal weight is put on Rana's own struggles, and particularly the way that Emad's investigation keeps her trauma fresh. We never learn the extent of what happened to Rana in the bathroom, aside from understanding that she suffered a serious head wound. The fact that Rana herself can't seem to say--not even to her own husband--speaks volumes. In one quietly heartbreaking sequences, Rana tells a neighbor that she won't be going to the police, and he tells her she's right. Not unkindly---but at the same time in a way that makes your stomach turn---he notes that she would have a lot of "explaining" to do. Essentially, despite her obvious injuries and her not knowing the man who attacked her, she'd have to prove that she was a victim. Through aspects of the play (such as sequences being censored or an actress who is supposed to be nearly nude being covered head-to-toe), we understand the oppression that surrounds Rana and any other victim of sexual assault. In the context that Rana has very little chance at justice, Emad's decision to chase down her attacker feels more like a cruelty than a kindness.
At the same time, Emad's own anger is understandable. Seeing someone you love hurt is horrible. In the wake of Rana's attack, Emad's anger radiates out like an explosion: anger at the "promiscuous" woman who had the apartment before them, anger at the friend who found them the apartment, anger even at Rana herself for still being afraid to shower alone. You would hope that finding the attacked would give Emad a more "healthy" place to channel his anger, but life isn't that simple.
I intended to watch this film in two parts, but I couldn't turn it off. Hosseini and Alidoosti give searing performances as two people whose love keeps them together, yet whose reactions to a tragedy are pulling them in opposite directions.
I would also be remiss if I didn't mention an absolutely and adorable turn by a young actor named Sam Valipour as a boy named Sadra, the son of one of Rana and Emad's fellow actors. This child is the cutest flippin' thing, and a sequence involving him and Rana in the latter half of the movie offers a much needed pause for a deep breath.
Really excellent.
The Salesman, 2016
Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) are a couple living together and performing together in a production of Death of a Salesman. Forced to relocate to a new apartment when their old place becomes structurally unsafe, a tragic misunderstanding leaves Rana alone in their home where she is attacked by an assailant. As Rana struggles to put the experience behind her, Emad becomes obsessed with tracking down her attacker.
This is a compelling, 360-degree examination of the way that a single tragedy can unfurl into a series of hurtful moments both large and small.
There's a tricky line to walk in the way that this story is told, namely that the thriller/mystery aspect of things---Emad's investigation---is naturally a more interesting storyline from a narrative point of view. His search for his wife's attacker mirror's our own desire to see justice done and hits at our very human desire to know and understand what happened.
But thankfully, an equal weight is put on Rana's own struggles, and particularly the way that Emad's investigation keeps her trauma fresh. We never learn the extent of what happened to Rana in the bathroom, aside from understanding that she suffered a serious head wound. The fact that Rana herself can't seem to say--not even to her own husband--speaks volumes. In one quietly heartbreaking sequences, Rana tells a neighbor that she won't be going to the police, and he tells her she's right. Not unkindly---but at the same time in a way that makes your stomach turn---he notes that she would have a lot of "explaining" to do. Essentially, despite her obvious injuries and her not knowing the man who attacked her, she'd have to prove that she was a victim. Through aspects of the play (such as sequences being censored or an actress who is supposed to be nearly nude being covered head-to-toe), we understand the oppression that surrounds Rana and any other victim of sexual assault. In the context that Rana has very little chance at justice, Emad's decision to chase down her attacker feels more like a cruelty than a kindness.
At the same time, Emad's own anger is understandable. Seeing someone you love hurt is horrible. In the wake of Rana's attack, Emad's anger radiates out like an explosion: anger at the "promiscuous" woman who had the apartment before them, anger at the friend who found them the apartment, anger even at Rana herself for still being afraid to shower alone. You would hope that finding the attacked would give Emad a more "healthy" place to channel his anger, but life isn't that simple.
I intended to watch this film in two parts, but I couldn't turn it off. Hosseini and Alidoosti give searing performances as two people whose love keeps them together, yet whose reactions to a tragedy are pulling them in opposite directions.
I would also be remiss if I didn't mention an absolutely and adorable turn by a young actor named Sam Valipour as a boy named Sadra, the son of one of Rana and Emad's fellow actors. This child is the cutest flippin' thing, and a sequence involving him and Rana in the latter half of the movie offers a much needed pause for a deep breath.
Really excellent.