Daily Dialogue — November 9, 2012
INT. FAMILY COURT — COURTROOM — DAY
In a branch of the Iranian Divorce Court, SIMIN and NADER are seated across from the judge. The door to the room is open and from the room next door, the voices of people waiting to see the judge and the commotion of the corridors is heard. Nader is quiet and pensive and staring at the judge. Simin speaks continuously.
JUDGE (O.S.): Madame, the things you are saying are not reasons with which you can file for a divorce, unless there is something else.
SIMIN: Like what?
JUDGE (O.S.): Like if he is an addict, physically abuses you or does not give you an allowance.
SIMIN: No, he is not an addict. On the contrary, he is a good, decent person…
JUDGE (O.S.): Then why do you want a divorce?
SIMIN: Because he won’t come with me. If he does I’ll drop my case for a divorce… (to Nader) Will you come?
NADER: No, I won’t. If it’s important for her to leave, she can.
SIMIN: Your honor, ask him why he won’t, why he doesn’t want to come?
NADER (to Simin): You know why.
SIMIN: No I don’t.
NADER (to the Judge): Let her give me one reason to convince me why we should move abroad in these circumstances.
SIMIN: You give me one reason why we should stay.
NADER (to Simin): I’ll give you a thousand. The first one is I can’t leave my father.
SIMIN: But you can leave your wife?
NADER: You brought me here! You filed for a divorce! When did I leave you?!
SIMIN: Didn’t you just say she can leave if she wants to?
NADER: Yes and I’ll say it again. When you don’t want to live with me… I didn’t get you by force and I’m not going to keep you by force… One day you came to live with me. Today you don’t want to.
SIMIN: Your honor, his excuse is his father’s illness… His father has Alzheimer’s. He doesn’t even know that his son is around.
NADER: You think he doesn’t know.
SIMIN: Does he?
NADER: Yes I feel that he does.
SIMIN: It makes no difference to him, whether it is you that is with him or a stranger. He doesn’t even know that you are his son.
NADER: But I know that he is my dad.
— Judge (Mohammad Ebrahimian), Simin (Leila Hatami), Nader (Payman Maadi), A Separation (2011), written by Asghar Farhadi
http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=S5HD
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is exposition suggested by Dean Scott.
Trivia: First Iranian film to receive nomination for an Academy Award in the Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (or Best Original Screenplay) category.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary from Teddy: “I can’t praise this movie enough. It’s a masterpiece. The script opens with six and a half pages of exposition and yet it works beautifully. The choice to open the movie like this with the husband and wife arguing in front of an unseen judge is nothing short of genius. We learn everything we need to know to get into the story in one quick scene with rapid dialogue: the main characters’ wants, needs and struggles, responsibilities to their family, even the legal aspects of divorce. And it’s done with great efficiency.
Also, I love how writer/director Farhadi frames the shot. The body language speaks volumes about the current state of their relationship.”
Comment Archive