A Separation

Asghar Farhadi - 2011
A fine, fine work, not particularly ambitious but completely succesful as far as it goes.
Formally, it is about as unexciting as you can get away with and still be a film of its overall standing. Using next to no depth, shaky work. It moves with characters, passing from P.O.V. It is a high complement from me if I say it had certain echoes of Assayas (fuzz, from no depth, accentuates this comparison). This technique did help convey the problem of the lack of focus of the individuals, the overall picture of a society that is busy, harried, lacking clear
paths.
I was deeply impressed with the edit. It only cuts when necessary, it finds a reason to, rather than looking for not to, cut. This is actually quite often. We move from face to face often, but they tell us something, by seeing that gaze it adds to the consideration of the particular event.
There is a great economy of the editing, which tends to ellipsis; the later, we find this ellipsis is cause of the so many problems. This is a smart formal aspect; the viewer's lack of attention is drawn in, complicit with the situation.
This is a social problem film really, a narrative with a build up of small problems, difficulties, which in a low-key manner come together to underscore a near impossbility of life. The only moment I could have a problem with is that religion is used as a 'solution' at the one moment when their may be one; but this isn't clear all the same. That religion, sexism, and key to all, class is used, leaves a varied impression. There is much interesting viewer response here; perhaps for personal reasons, I sided more with the man. But the film offers a double view on this, leading one to consider one's siding; this is done by constant juxtapositions, constant revelations, developments, justifications and condemnations of the 'other view'.
When one sees a film wehre all are right, all are wrong, all are open to grace, but flawed, but have their reasons, one gives the name Renoir. This film isn't as existentially ambitious as Renoir; it appeals really to a pretty small, probably deeply bourgeois, and patient audience. Yet it does do these things.
This film does allow a few wondrous moments among the chaos, which is gripping if challenging, of the story. Small moments of calm, a cut to a clam face. This is often in the framing, where a shot will use the whole frame, two centres rather than one, to give a certain aestheticism, a different view. They offer moments for consideration. In the lift, or with half the screen blocked by a door. This use is played on later, where we have a sort of half-use of it in moments that call at once for a calmness but contribute to explaining difficulties in the plot.
This wouldn't not work as a play, though it exploits the cinema to an extent. What it is fine at is telling us the state of the world, of Iranina society at this time, to a certain degree of depth. It is easy to compare to 'Crimson Gold' which is maybe less reportage, but also gives us, basically, the missives on a society. This isn't a film to see if one is impatient; though one will hopefully, through the not cool or trendy, but challenging, world depicted and expressed in the form, learn the use, and perhaps impossibility, of patience.