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A masterclass in moral tension and domestic realism, driven by precise writing, lived-in performances, and escalating consequences that feel painfully human. It’s emotionally intense but never manipulative, turning a family crisis into a gripping study of class, faith, responsibility, and truth.
98% (484,896)
Where to watch: Hulu
2011 · 2h 3m · ★ 98% (485K)
Ugly truth, sweet lies.
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Leila Hatami, Payman Maadi, Sareh Bayat
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Asghar Farhadi
Asghar Farhadi Productions, Memento Production
Leila Hatami, Payman Maadi, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Shahab Hosseini, Kimia Hosseini, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Babak Karimi, Merila Zarei, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Mohammad Sajadian, Armine Zeytounchian, Bahareh Riyahi
Hulu
A masterclass in moral tension and domestic realism, driven by precise writing, lived-in performances, and escalating consequences that feel painfully human. It’s emotionally intense but never manipulative, turning a family crisis into a gripping study of class, faith, responsibility, and truth.
A Separation is one of those rare dramas that feels both intimate and immense. What begins as a marital dispute quickly expands into a chain of misunderstandings, obligations, and half-truths, each one tightening the pressure without ever feeling contrived. Farhadi’s gift is making every character understandable even when they are wrong.
The film’s power comes from its refusal to simplify anyone’s motives. Family duty, class difference, religion, pride, and fear all collide in ways that feel ordinary and devastating at once. The performances are so controlled and immediate that the film often plays like life being observed rather than drama being staged.
It’s gripping in the quietest possible way: not because it chases shocks, but because it understands how people corner themselves. By the end, the emotional residue is enormous, and the questions it leaves behind are the point.
cinéfila... 🕯️ (4★) · 3672 likes
i did not push her. it's not true. it's bullshit! i did not push her. i did naaaht
Cramer K. (5★) · 2759 likes
A few years ago I was talking to a friend who had just seen David Gordon Green's "All the Real Girls." My friend isn't much of a film buff, but he knew that he'd seen something special. When I asked what he liked most about it, he didn't say anything about the acting or the direction or nuances of the plot. Instead, he simply said "because that stuff really happened." Of course, my friend was not speaking literally. Instead, I… more
Erik 🎼 (5★) · 2640 likes
this makes up for every badly written film i've ever seen in my entire life and i hope woody allen's crusty ancient ass dies soon for stealing best original screenplay from this
júlia (5★) · 2122 likes
"does he even realize you are his son?" "i know he is my father."
maria (4.5★) · 1578 likes
you can be sure as hell the first thing i googled after finishing this was "WHO THE FUCK TOOK THE MONEY IN SEPARATION 2011?????"
A devastating relationship drama that, like this film, finds enormous emotional force in procedural details, legal pressure, and the painful logic of two decent people pulling apart.
Shares the same slow-burn moral seriousness and attention to how private lives are shaped by systems, pressure, and the fear of being judged.
A grief-stricken character study that balances restraint, guilt, and family responsibility with the same unsentimental emotional precision.
A foundational neorealist drama about dignity under pressure, where a practical family problem becomes a profound moral and social crisis.
A tense, socially observant drama about accusation, reputation, and how a community can turn a private misunderstanding into a public catastrophe.
A family drama that studies grief, blame, and emotional distance with the same patient, unsparing attention to behavior.
A classic divorce-and-parenting drama that explores custody, sacrifice, and the emotional cost of trying to do what is right.
A landmark in relationship realism, built on intimate conflict, shifting loyalties, and the painful honesty of long-term partnership.
A morally escalating story where one practical choice spirals into guilt, suspicion, and irreversible damage.
For its compassionate portrayal of dementia, family strain, and the emotional instability that comes with caregiving.
A crime-and-memory drama with strong emotional undercurrents, centered on truth, justice, and the long shadow of unresolved events.
A spare family drama that turns a domestic situation into a study of authority, trust, and the burden of paternal presence.
marriage and divorce, family obligation, moral ambiguity, class tension, truth and testimony, caregiving, faith and social pressure, parental responsibility
Iranian drama, moral dilemma, domestic realism, courtroom tension, family conflict, social realism, emotional intensity, middle-class life, naturalistic acting, contemporary world cinema