The Salesman (2016)
I had high hopes for this as I really liked A Seperation by Farhadi and this was in many ways very similar. Perhaps too similar, but still great. Farhadi is a master in getting a high level of authenticity out of his actors. Everything feels and look very natural, making me believe in these people and their situation. Like with A Seperation, a married couple is thrown into a huge emotional turmoil through a series of minor events and coincidences that pushes them beyond normalcy. It opens up for questions and themes about forgiveness, the price for revenge and its consequences for people around those involved, complicated by a lack of trust in the police and the ability to not overreact on assumptions alone. I think I might have liked this a bit more if I saw this first and not A Seperation, as the similarities makes the story feel a little more constructed this time around, but it is especially the authenticity in the acting that makes Farhadi’s movies shine above many others.
Oscar Best International Winners Ranked
Rating: 3.5