A Hero, the new movie from Asghar Farhadi, is now in general release and we saw it the first day that the evil empire made it available for streaming. We had been eagerly awaiting this opportunity for some time: the film won the Grand Prize at Cannes, has been showered with rave reviews, and, most important, Farhadi has recently emerged as one of our favorite filmmakers—thus every new release immediately falls under the “must see” category.
This was not always the case. In fact, we were a bit late to this party. Years ago, I dutifully secured the DVD of A Separation (2011), as that much praised feature had won an Academy Award, and, better still, bagged the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Yet somehow on any given evening we were never inspired to cue up some austere Iranian art film about the end of a marriage, and so the disc languished on the shelf. Then, almost a full decade later, when everyone was talking about this Big American Movie, Marriage Story (2019), at the monthly Mid Century Cinema staff meeting we decided the two pictures would make an ideal double feature. The vision was to subsequently attend cocktail parties, wait for people to talk about Marriage Story, and then rejoin, in the most spectacularly pretentious way possible, “well, that’s a good movie, but it really pales in comparison with A Separation.”
That plan fell through, however, because actually we never go to cocktail parties. (And I should mention that the performances in Marriage Story are exceptional.) But on the plus side, we were absolutely blown away by A Separation—my notes positively (and uncharacteristically) gush: “This was a revelation. Just outstanding . . . drawn to the characters . . . Love the open ending, and the serial unraveling of ‘where the truth lies’.” The critics were right, this was a movie worth talking about, extensively, and we rushed off to see all the films of an auteur who could produce such a masterpiece. As Farhadi’s oeuvre to date is not enormous, we accomplished this within a year (except for the first two, which don’t appear available in any format with English subtitles). [2024 Update – These are now available and we’ve watched them! The first is . . . a first film; the second, Beautiful City, made just one year later, is, astonishingly, fully-formed-Farhadi.]
Next up was The Past (2013). Here my notes begin “Wow . . . even better than A Separation.” I’ve only seen it twice at this point, but feel confident that it is one of the great films of this century. Simply put, The Past is on par with the best dramatic works of our most accomplished filmmakers. A viewing of About Elly (2009) quickly followed. Elly is an excellent film, and boasts the most overtly ambitious visual bravura of Farhadi’s films—but I did not experience the same intense emotional attachment to this one as I did with the others. The house style, however, was now clear: take some characters, put them in a situation, present a familiar problem. After a while, it becomes clear that there is a second layer of complexity—both to the story, and to the source of the characters’ motivations (and how we feel about them). And then before you know it a third layer of revelations changes everything once again. Quite impressive—but wait, there’s more. These movies – all of them – are impeccably orchestrated. Not in a showing off kind of a way, but in a “boy this guy really knows where to put the camera, and how long to hold a shot” kind of a way. Similarly, the performances are invariably excellent, but they don’t shout “Acting with a capital A.” Rather, they are so (apparently) effortless and naturalistic that you are quickly enveloped by the illusion that the characters on the screen are who they are—real people, not fictional representations. Finally, two elements that can’t but release a flood of endorphins for us, Farhadi’s films feature a commitment to moral complexity and wariness of narrative closure. (Isn’t that a song? “I’ve got moral ambiguity/I’ve got open endings/who could ask for anything more?”)
So we kept watching. The day after About Elly we screened Everybody Knows (2018), shot in Spain with Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. (The Past was a French production; all the others were made in Iran.) And, well, regarding Everybody, here’s a lesson in the perils of clarity—for two thirds of the movie I was loving this complex, layered mystery/drama, and then suddenly (made possible by absence of concerns about censorship?) everything was rather fully explained. And it was kind of, um . . . not that interesting. Two thirds of a great film, though. A week later The Salesman (2016) followed – another critics’ darling (a second Best Foreign Film Oscar and two major prizes at Cannes) – and very recognizably in the welcome house style, with an especially strong second half. Still, this one falls under the “very pleased to have seen” category, and, suggestively, a full month passed before the ball was again picked up, with Fireworks Wednesday (2006), Farhadi’s third film—and, thrillingly, a flat out masterpiece.
Which brings us to yesterday, and A Hero. Perhaps this is the curse of high expectations speaking – this is a quite a fine film: adroitly crafted, extremely well played, and with something to say on several significant topics of present and universal social relevance – nevertheless, I was left with more quibbles than usual. Beautifully shot and seamless, with humanistic performances and something to say, these are not qualities to be casually dismissed (and artfully reflecting the pathologies of social media and the rigidity of institutions lands squarely on our sweet spots). But I thought the plot turned on as many as four key choices of questionable plausibility; two key antagonists left somewhat underdrawn; the treatment of one young character flirted with mawkishness; and, expecting as I was layers of eye-opening revelations, everything seemed a tad straightforward. In sum, A Hero is a fine addition to an estimable oeuvre, but not close to peak Farhadi. I can’t wait for the next one.
The Films of Asghar Farhadi:
Dancing in the Dust (2003)
Beautiful City (2004) **
Fireworks Wednesday (2006) ***
About Elly (2009) */**
A Separation (2011) ***
The Past (2013) ***
The Salesman (2016) *
Everybody Knows (2018) *
A Hero (2021) *