Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Forced out of their apartment due to dangerous works on a neighboring building, Emad and Rana move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant will dramatically change the young couple’s life.
Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman is a masterclass in moral complexity, weaving the staging of Death of a Salesman into a tense domestic thriller about assault, shame, and justice in contemporary Tehran. The plot is meticulously constructed, with each revelation shifting the ethical ground beneath the viewer's feet. The acting, particularly from Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti, is deeply naturalistic and emotionally precise. The parallel with Miller's play is not decorative but thematically resonant, elevating the film above a simple revenge narrative. The ending is quietly devastating, refusing catharsis and leaving all parties — and the audience — morally implicated. Cinematography is competent and purposeful but not visually distinctive enough to rank among the film's strongest assets. Novelty is high: Farhadi's signature of embedding a social critique within an intimate domestic drama, layered with theatrical meta-commentary, gives the film a singular voice in world cinema.