THE SALESMAN

Asghar Farhadi’s sombre new movie is the story of a shocking and mysterious event which shatters the wellbeing of a middle-class couple. It is about the consequences of male pride and privilege – but since its first appearance at Cannes last year, the film has outgrown its own immediate significance. It became a totem for cultural resistance to Donald Trump when the proposed travel ban threatened to exclude this Iranian director from the Academy Awards, where The Salesman was nominated for best foreign language film (Farhadi had already won an Oscar in this category for his 2011 film A Separation). The ban was overturned, but Farhadi stayed away in protest anyway. His film had a hugely well-attended free outdoor screening on the night in London, and won the Oscar.