The Iranian cinema in the 21st century, as far as I'm concerned, can only be attributed to one man: Asghar Farhadi. In only the past decade, he's brought us About Elly, A Separation and (the overlooked) The Past. Farhadi's new movie, The Salesman (Forushande), incorporates elements of Arthur Miller and marital tension that arises between a couple after the wife, Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) is brutally assaulted in her apartment late one night. Her husband, Emad (Shahab Hosseini), a high school teacher appearing in a stage version of Death of a Salesman, is devastated by the events, and vows to find the perpetrator and bring him to justice. The movie takes a similar, methodical approach to examining the physical, but mostly emotional, wounds that such an incident can have on a married couple, and those close to them. The film's climax boldly examines an issue that's prevalent in Iranian society: is a violent, criminal act against a woman less of a stain on society than the guilty party losing face in front of his family and friends by being exposed as a violent rapist that he is? The characters in The Salesman have difficult choices to make, and just like in real life, there are no easy solutions or just outcomes. Only burdens of the soul.
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