The Salesman (2016)

Two actors working on a Persian production of Death of a Salesman have their domestic life pulled apart when one of them is attacked and their reactions take them in different directions. Writer/director Asghar Farhadi paints an acute and fascinating portrait of the difficulty of recovering from violence.

Shahab Hosseini plays Emad playing Willy Loman, whose rage, fear, powerlessness, and compassion leaves him wrecked when the woman he loves is hurt. Taraneh Alidoosti plays Rana playing Linda Loman, whose way of surviving is to move forward, pursue her passions, and care for loved ones. Their needs and desires are diametrically opposed and they can't find a place to heal together. When The Salesman reaches its climax and things have spiraled beyond the point of no return, Hosseini and Alidoosti are both pitch perfect and portray a multiplicity of hurts, hopes, and horrors. It is breathtaking.

Some of my favorite moments are when Farhadi mounts his take on Death of a Salesman. It made me want to see this version of the play. This grounds his story in being about artists, they are described at one time in the film as being "in culture." There is a power in what these people are doing and it is shattered.

The Salesman is a somewhat quiet film whose power comes from the richness in that quietness. It will leave you wondering about your own means of reacting to, surviving violence. It will make you question how and why we do what we do. And it has a beautiful tragedy to it, not in the victimization but in the way this relationship plays out. The Salesman is a painfully lovely little story.

The Salesman
Starring: Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti, Babak Karimi
Writer/director: Asghar Farhadi