Ajit Manuel

I would rate this movie as one of the all time greats of world cinema. Farhadi's direction is superb. Not a single scene is without significance, not a second wasted. The camera shots, often through half open doors and windows, help convey what goes on in the private lives of people in a family. The acting of all the actors is faultless, each one a memorable performance; but I liked the daughter's, Termeh's ( played by Farhad's own daugthter Sarina Farhadi) the best. Her subdued acting wonderfully portrays the deep unhappiness felt by a daughter who is torn apart by the divorce of her parents. The film, though set in traditional Iran, is very much a modern film, and deals with the impact of modernity on traditional ways of living, the impact of individualism on the family, and is therefore of universal significance.