INTERNATIONAL

Film Review: Using A Separation as a Teaching Moment 57
and similar to the typical image of Iranian women in Western films. However, unlike
those films, her submissiveness is not attributed to Islam or Iran’s conservative culture,
but to her lower economic class. The wife in the film exhibits a very strong personality
and seems to be more resourceful than her husband. Not only does she plan their immigration
and solve their problems, but when her husband is accused of murdering the
maid’s unborn child, she is the one who investigates behind the scenes and negotiates
with the maid’s family.
During the discussion period after the film, my students shared a range of
opinions and reactions. Of course, the open ending of the film, which does not reveal
Nader and Simin’s daughter’s decision about which parent to live with after they divorce,
was very frustrating to most students who are used to typical Hollywood happy endings.
Many students were equally annoyed by the maid for creating the situation in the first
place and even for her submissiveness. Many rejected what they felt was the husband’s
incompetence and attempt to manipulate his daughter. Most importantly, the students
realized that the realities of Iranian women, as perceived by Iranians themselves, are far
more complex and multi-dimensional than the simplistic version found in Hollywood
films.