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Film REVIEWS
DVD
DRAMA A SEPARATION (JODAEIYE NADER AZ SIMIN) (PG) 122min ●●●●●
A Separation begins with the event of its title: Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) sit in front of a local judge debating their decision to get a divorce. Simin wants to move abroad, where she feels their daughter, Termeh (Sarina Farhadi), will have better prospects for the future. Nader on the other hand feels he should stay in Iran with his elderly father, who has Alzheimer’s. Simin believes the only solution is for the couple to separate. From this fractured start unravels a series of events that will lead to a single tragic incident, an incident that becomes the focus of a tense altercation between those involved, their families and friends as well as the police.
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (About Elly) delivers a morally complex tale, which never allows viewers to easily point the finger of
blame, gradually revealing information that shows neither side is entirely innocent or guilty. A Separation is rare in its dedication to retaining the complexities and intricacies of its narrative, leading to a rich and thought-provoking consideration of the nature of judgement and the role of the law, all against a backdrop of Iranian culture and customs. Shot in a naturalistic style, which at times
recalls the honesty of feted realist filmmakers the Dardenne brothers, Farhadi’s film is made all the more memorable due to its outstanding performances. It comes as little surprise that the ensemble cast picked up both Best Actor and Best Actress awards at this year’s Berlin Film Festival and the film also won the Golden Bear, the first Iranian film to receive the accolade. A Separation is a stand-out work, skilfully crafted, intelligent and considered, it will play on your mind long after the credits roll. (Gail Tolley) ■ Selected release from Fri 1 Jul.
COMEDY/THRILLER THE GUARD (15) 96min ●●●●●
Don’t you just love the Irish? They’re cultured, funny, nihilistic and big-hearted. They can be naughty, but they love their mammies and they are always up for the craic. OK, let’s not beat about the Gallic bush here, The Guard, written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (brother of In Bruges’ Martin) is a mighty poteen bowl of cliché piss – the only thing that’s missing are leprechauns.
Sgt Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is a mildly corrupt and hugely taciturn (but confrontational when he feels fit) police officer in rural Galway. His usual routine of drinking and visiting prostitutes is interrupted when uptight FBI Agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) arrives in town on the trail of international drug dealers led by philosophy spouting villain Francis Sheehy (Liam Cunningham). Sheehy’s gang’s murderous trail means the Boyle and Everett must work together. Though he has a problem with tone, McDonagh certainly
seems to have the cojones to one day be a great screenwriter and The Guard contains enough decent funny lines (mostly for Gleeson) and comic set-ups to keep it mildly diverting. Unfortunately it also seems to have been been plotted, filmed and edited by an eight-year-old with ADHD. So insubstantial, ramshackle and random is the final narrative that great actors like Cunningham and Mark Strong are left with nothing to do until the regrettable Western parody-style showdown that brings this forgettable tale to its sorry conclusion. (Paul Dale) ■ Selected release from Fri 8 Jul.
If you are still buying DVDs in these straightened, downloaded times then you are going to want a bit of bang for your buck. Boxsets are the way forward and late June and July are surprisingly full of intriguing new releases. The Terence Rattigan Collection (2 Entertain ●●●●●) marks the centenary of this sophisticated and enduring playwright’s birth and contains BBC Play of the Month versions of Separate Tables, French Without Tears and the decent film version The Browning Version (pictured) from 1985. There are also loads of interviews with Rattigan and live shot performance films. If you like your Rattigan it’s a great package with a great price tag (under £30).
The Andrei Tarkovsky Collection (Artificial Eye ●●●●●) should have a space on every cineaste’s shelf as it contains all seven of Tarkovsky’s features, from Ivan’s Childhood to The Sacrifice. All Tarkovsky’s films are worth checking out and some of them are the kind of masterpieces (Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Nostalgia) that will have you thinking for days.
The Danny Boyle Collection (Fox ●●●●●) makes its debut on Blu-ray and contains this great director’s last four features: 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Slumdog Millionaire.
The Abbas Kiarostami Collection 1997-
2011 (Artificial Eye ●●●●● ) brings together six excellent films by the Iranian filmmaker, they are: Certified Copy, Ten, Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, ABC Africa (otherwise unavailable) and 10 on Ten. It’s all Persian gold. Finally Tales Out of School: Four Plays
by David Leland (Network ●●●●●) uncovers the mighty writing talents of Leland with four of his very best television scripts, the most famous of which: Made in Britain directed by the brilliant Alan Clarke, made a star of Tim Roth as a racist skinhead. The other films: Birth of a Nation (featuring Jim Broadbent as an old authoritarian teacher at odds with progressives), Flying into the Wind (about home education) and R.H.I.N.O (about the failures of the social system) prove that Leland is a major polemicist whose work should be celebrated more. (Paul Dale)
23 Jun–21 Jul 2011 THE LIST 63