Film review: 'The Salesman'

This year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film went to "The Salesman." It was Iranian director-writer Asghar Farhadi's second film to do so — his first being "A Separation." But this year, he accepted under protest.

As "The Salesman" opens, a couple is forced from their apartment as it suddenly begins to collapse around them. The man, Emad (Shahab Hosseini) puts his life in danger helping neighbors evacuate. Both he and his wife, Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti), are actors appearing in a stage production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman." A fellow theater member offers Emad and Rana an apartment he has for rent but neglects to mention that the former tenant was evicted for questionable activity. 

That activity provides the catalyst for a crime to be committed against Rana. Just after moving in, she returns home before Emad, who's expected to arrive soon, and leaves the front door ajar for him. While showering, Rana is assaulted by a stranger and ends up in the hospital. But she refuses to report the incident to the police for fear of having to explain the attack in detail. At first, Emad is sympathetic toward his wife's demands, but inevitably, his yearning for vengeance cannot be stifled. Before long, their once-happy marriage also begins crumbling around them.

Farhadi has created a slow-burning, methodical breed of tension in this character-driven film. He puts forth that the true nature of a relationship can only be revealed when pressure is put upon it. The roles that Emad and Rana play on stage eerily become a mirror of their own as husband and wife.

"The Salesman" is a film about guilt, anger, and above all, forgiveness. The final scene in this compelling movie will come as a shock but probably shouldn't, given the manner in which human beings are wired. Mr. Farhadi did not attend the Academy Awards ceremony to collect his much deserved Oscar, "out of the respect for the people of my country." He went on to state, "Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions." Thank God for those who do.