I saw this movie when it came out in theaters and I recently revisited it. It’s just a real masterwork. Farhadi is an Iranian director and he made this movie in France; it begins with an Iranian man returning to France so that he can finalize a divorce from his French wife. And, really, I think you need to know nothing else that happens in this film. I’ve seen this film described as a mystery, and I think that’s kind of apt, but it’s certainly no thriller. Farhadi’s hand on the camera is slow and methodical and beautiful. The performances are, across the board, brilliant, particularly Ali Mosafa as the man returning to France, and all quite minimal, but very evocative. There are certainly surprising twists in the plot and the film keeps switching focus every time you think you know who the main character is, so it’s a real ensemble piece. I hate to be so vague, but you really need to watch this movie and, when you do, I want you to experience it the way I did, knowing nothing about it really. It’s a film that will seem slow to you and too quiet at times. I walked out of the theater thinking it was too precise and too methodical for its own good. But the longer I lived with the film, the deeper it burrowed and the more I kept thinking about it and even being kind of haunted by it. It wasn’t long until I decided it was a great film. A second viewing has only solidified that. I now think it’s kind of perfect in every way. Give this one a chance and I think it’ll dig down deep. And that ending . . . I’m not saying a word, but . . . God, that ending. It’s a gutwrenching film and a deeply, deeply emotionally powerful. Farhadi is a master of catharsis; so let him have a shot at you. Highly recommended. 4 stars.
tl;dr – gutwrenching drama from Iranian director Farhadi has plot twists aplenty, but it’s no thriller. What is it? A methodical, quiet movie that refuses to leave you alone once you see it. 4 stars.