To See or Not to See: The Salesman

Asghar Farhadi had written and directed some of the most well-known and critically acclaimed Iranian movies in the past decade (most notably A Separation which won Best Foreign Language Oscar in 2012). He tends to focus his films on individuals and the drama that comes out of interpersonal relationships. With The Salesman, it is the same.

Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) and Emad (Shahab Hosseini) are a married couple living in Tehran. Emad teaches literature at a high school. A construction site near Emad and Rana’s apartment building has cracked the foundation so they look for new temporary housing. Babak (Babak Karimi), a friend and member of the local theater troupe they are in, owns an apartment building and lets them have an apartment that was recently vacated for cheap. Meanwhile, the production they are all working on in the theater troupe is Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Emad is playing the lead, Willy Loman, and Rana is, of course, playing Willy’s wife, Linda. Willy Loman’s spirit (and feelings of impotence and humiliation) hovers over the entire film.

One night, Rana goes home after rehearsal while Emad stays late to meet with government censorship officials to go over the play (if you’re looking for a deeper dive into government censorship and arts & culture in Iran check out the wonderful film, No One Knows About the Persian Cats). As Emad and Rana are sharing one set of apartment keys between them, Emad tells her that he’ll buzz their apartment when he gets home so she can let him in. When the door buzzes later, Rana cracks open the door right before she jumps into the shower, thinking it was Emad coming back. Instead, she unwittingly allows a stranger into the apartment. What ensues is the meat of the film.

Farhadi explores notions of respect and honor, vengeance, the marital relationship, and a society in which a woman assaulted would rather not report it to the police because of the blemish that would mar her reputation. The subtle performances Farhadi draws out of his cast is terrific. Taraneh Alidoosti brings to life Rana’s terror, shock, and fragility. Shahab Hosseini brings an intensity and complex despair to Emad; the blow to his manhood seems to matter more than the condition of his wife. As we watch him sleuth out who the perpetrator really was and weigh it against his desire to deal justice, we see the cracks in Emad and Rana’s marriage as Emad’s quest for personal vengeance takes precedence over everything else.

The Salesman will draw you in and stay with you for long after.