English summary

Gripping drama rings true thanks to natural acting and subtle visual direction  

Emad and Rana move into a new apartment in Tehran when construction on their old flat  foreshadows its collapse. The previously tenant in their new place appears to have left in a hurry – and she triggers an unexpected, traumatic incident. When Emad seeks his own revenge, he unwittingly distances himself from Rana.

At the Cannes film festival, The Salesman received well-deserved awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Shahab Hosseini)! Just as in Farhadi’s previous work, including the Oscar-winning A Separation (2011), the plot is brilliantly and painstakingly constructed. A seamless flow of subtle twists, nuances and emotions results in a dialogue-rich mix of drama, thriller and mystery, in which themes like pride, revenge and empathy play a central role. In the context of such layering it is especially remarkable how the starring actors access the very core of their characters.