
Forced to leave their collapsing house, Ranaa and Emad, an Iranian couple who happen to be performers rehearsing for Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" rent a new apartment from one of their fellow performers. Unaware of the fact that the previous tenant had been a woman of ill repute having many clients, they settle down. By a nasty turn of events one of the clients pays a visit to the apartment one night while Ranaa is alone at home taking a bath and the aftermath turns ... (Full plot summary below)
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Forced to leave their collapsing house, Ranaa and Emad, an Iranian couple who happen to be performers rehearsing for Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" rent a new apartment from one of their fellow performers. Unaware of the fact that the previous tenant had been a woman of ill repute having many clients, they settle down. By a nasty turn of events one of the clients pays a visit to the apartment one night while Ranaa is alone at home taking a bath and the aftermath turns the peaceful life of the couple upside down.
Leave your thoughts about The Salesman.
| Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternHis new film, in Persian with English subtitles, is of a piece with his best work — tightly focused, rather than broad-gauge brilliant, and another instance of this superb filmmaker turning elusive motivations and the mysteries of personality into gripping drama. |
| Slant MagazineChuck BowenAsghar Farhadi's film yields a tonal and emotional friction that's simultaneously tragic, transcendent, and comic. |
| VarietyOwen GleibermanFor a healthy stretch, The Salesman is even more low-key, minimal, and contained than the earlier Farhadi films. Yet the writer-director’s technique is just as assured as before. Every shot is in place, every line leading to an outcome that feels quietly up for grabs. |
| Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernBy the film’s shattering end, you’ll feel the spirit of Arthur Miller, one of the great dramatists of the 20th century, reaching across the transom to touch one of the great dramatists of the 21st. |
| The New York TimesA.O. ScottWith exquisite patience and attention to detail, Asghar Farhadi, the writer and director, builds a solid and suspenseful plot out of ordinary incidents, and packs it with rich and resonant ideas. |
| The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorWith The Salesman, Farhadi opens a window into his own society that offers a universal view of the emotional rivalries within the human heart. Neither America nor Iran could ask any more of an artist. |
| Boston GlobePeter KeoughAs often happens in films about putting on plays, life imitates art, but in this instance obliquely. |
| St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonThe film offers insights into Iranian society while also subtly making a case that human foibles are universal. |
| Rolling StonePeter TraversA dazzling, darkly funny, quietly devastating human drama from the Islamic Republic of Iran. |
| Washington PostAnn HornadayIf the conceit feels obvious and strained, it still gives Farhadi and his actors ample room to explore the ambiguities of commitment, ethics and revenge in a society where mistrust in public servants runs deep. |