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A SEPARATION - Discussion

post #1 of 12
1/9/12 at 8:38pm
Thread Starter 

Now this is what an adult drama looks like. Characters that are believable and not easily reduced to good guy/bad guy stereotypes. Moral quandries, which would make Kieslowski proud, that can't be solved with one heartfelt speech. Camera work that creates an intimate portrait of a world. A script that's intelligent in all the right ways, that keeps you guessing, and makes you actively deal with the material.

 

It's easily the best movie I've seen in a good, long while.


Edited by EvilTwin - 1/10/12 at 5:07am
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post #2 of 12
1/9/12 at 9:02pm

Everyone I know who has seen this says it's the best movie of the year.  I really want to see it.

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post #3 of 12
2/11/12 at 3:05pm

So, so, so, so good. Somehow manages to feel fiercely intimate and personal and also stand as a metaphor for the religious, political, sexist nightmare that is the current state of Iran at the same time. Deftly, delicately mixes everything with what can only be described as grace. Just an outstanding movie.

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post #4 of 12
3/6/12 at 1:19am

Holy shit.

 

A SEPARATION? 

 

No no no no.  More like:

 

A MAZING.

 

(aka RASHOMON 2: Playing it Straight)

(aka WHY'RE YOU HITTING YOURSELF???)

 

You go through almost every one of your emotions while watching this film.  Incredibly intense without ever getting melodramatic.  

 

I went into this film blind.  Based on the first scene, I thought I had it pegged.  Then as the film went on, I wondered, "Who is this film about?"  Then it just kept on building and building back on what it had established with that first scene.  Then that ending.  Throughout the whole film, my opinion about every character flipped multiple times.  

 

I was the only person in the theater aside from 2 other couples.  The guy in one of the couples would not stop commenting on what was going on.  It WAS a little obnoxious, but part of me appreciated having such gut reactions of another person being voiced out.  Lots of audible sighs from the stress brought on by the story.  There was no question that the film had an effect on him.  But I'm also certain that he'll think that the film wasn't good because he can't articulate the way it made him feel.

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post #5 of 12
4/24/12 at 7:18am

 

How hard is this to do, Hollywood? A social drama without any pandering, condescension, or syrupy sentimentality. Ping ponging sympathies without ever making any of the characters seem less than three dimensional human beings.  A moral quagmire like a Chinese finger trap, the more you pull in any direction, the tighter it gets.  But it never feels like the filmmakers are stacking the deck.  There's tension from almost every possible angle: legal, familial, religious, ethical, etc. Every one of the main characters impacts the central events of the film, and everyone has their own unique stakes.
 
You always want these kind of movies to pay off, even if they don't really need to, because of how impactful each individual scene is on their own.  It's not the kind of thing where everything is riding on a climax or a reveal.  By all rights the film could just sort of run its course, like real life, with nothing satisfactorily resolved.  And that's what it does, but just like the last great social drama I watched (4 Months, 3, Weeks, and 2 Days) the ending still manages to be a real knockout.  The final scene sort of sums everything up: another emotionally complex situation that requires a definitive answer when such a thing is not really possible.  The line that kept going through my head at the end was from the most recent Mad Men, "Every time we do this, it diminishes us a little."
 
How hard is this to do?  Actually probably pretty damn hard, considering this is the best film of 2011.
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post #6 of 12
4/28/12 at 8:15pm
Thread Starter 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey View Post

 

How hard is this to do, Hollywood? A social drama without any pandering, condescension, or syrupy sentimentality. Ping ponging sympathies without ever making any of the characters seem less than three dimensional human beings.  A moral quagmire like a Chinese finger trap, the more you pull in any direction, the tighter it gets.  But it never feels like the filmmakers are stacking the deck.  There's tension from almost every possible angle: legal, familial, religious, ethical, etc. Every one of the main characters impacts the central events of the film, and everyone has their own unique stakes.
 
You always want these kind of movies to pay off, even if they don't really need to, because of how impactful each individual scene is on their own.  It's not the kind of thing where everything is riding on a climax or a reveal.  By all rights the film could just sort of run its course, like real life, with nothing satisfactorily resolved.  And that's what it does, but just like the last great social drama I watched (4 Months, 3, Weeks, and 2 Days) the ending still manages to be a real knockout.  The final scene sort of sums everything up: another emotionally complex situation that requires a definitive answer when such a thing is not really possible.  The line that kept going through my head at the end was from the most recent Mad Men, "Every time we do this, it diminishes us a little."
 
How hard is this to do?  Actually probably pretty damn hard, considering this is the best film of 2011.

 


Only part I disagree with is that I really think this movie belongs to 2012. It's going to be on my best of the year list at the end.

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post #7 of 12
4/29/12 at 7:35am

If a movie gets a release for critics in a year, it's technically released in that year. A Separation was in major cities in 2011, so therefore it was technically released in 2011. It was also up for a 2011 Oscar, so it's kind of hard to argue that it's a 2012 movie.

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post #8 of 12
4/29/12 at 9:00pm
Thread Starter 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker View Post

If a movie gets a release for critics in a year, it's technically released in that year. A Separation was in major cities in 2011, so therefore it was technically released in 2011. It was also up for a 2011 Oscar, so it's kind of hard to argue that it's a 2012 movie.

 

Except that it wasn't released to MOST markets until 2012. Sure it's 2011 as far as Oscar eligibility, but for the vast majority of the country outside of New York and LA it's not a 2011 film. Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia didn't get it until late January and it platformed out from there. As far as I can tell you had to go to a foreign festival/market, live in LA or New York, or get a screener copy if you wanted to see it in 2011.

 

Since I'm not a member of the Academy, why do I have to follow Academy rules instead of the calendar? I got to see it a month earlier than my city, and even that was too late for a Best of 2011 list. I suspect the vast majority of the board has a similar situation.

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post #9 of 12
4/29/12 at 9:06pm

There's no right answer to this conflict either.

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post #10 of 12
4/29/12 at 9:09pm

There kind of is. It doesn't matter when you get a chance to see the movie. The only thing that matters is when the movie was first released. That includes limited releases. Just because it's a limited release doesn't mean it's not a release. It's a 2011 movie. End of story. 

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post #11 of 12
4/29/12 at 9:27pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey View Post

There's no right answer to this conflict either.

 

Would you like to stay with your 2011?  Or 2012?

 

(tears)

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post #12 of 12
4/29/12 at 9:32pm

I'm aware it's officially a 2011 film, but I've even seen professional critics put films that primarily played in the following year on the next year's personal list, which is all we're really talking about.

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