Parents' Guide to

The Salesman

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Oscar-winning Iranian film has violence, some language.

Movie PG-13 2017 125 minutes
The Salesman Poster Image

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What's the Story?

In THE SALESMAN, husband and wife Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) are co-starring in a production of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman. Meanwhile, their apartment building starts to collapse, and they're forced to evacuate. They hastily move into a new place -- and one evening Emad returns home to find the couple's home empty and blood in the shower. It turns out that an intruder came inside thinking he'd find the apartment's former tenant, who's described as a promiscuous woman. But instead he found and attacked Rana. Emad discovers that the intruder left behind a pickup truck, and he uses it to track the attacker down. The attacker's identity is something of a surprise, but Rana's increasingly withdrawn suffering -- and Emad's increasing frustration -- causes him to make a decision he could later regret.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Two-time Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) returns with another mature familial drama; though it doesn't quite rank with his best, it may still satisfy savvy viewers. Winner of the 2017 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Salesman has several interesting motifs, including its use of Death of a Salesman and the images of the crumbling apartment building. But the movie doesn't really keep up with these motifs -- and, as it goes on, it becomes clear that Emad is a truly awful character, impatient, rash, and flat-out mean. It's difficult to stick with him.

In the end, the movie feels more like a soap opera than anything. Regardless, Farhadi conjures some striking, memorable visuals, and his understanding and treatment of marriage is still above reproach; his characters feel alive and real. Best of all, he's arguably the most universal director Iran has ever produced, appealing to a wider Western audience than anyone before him -- and he manages to make his characters' concerns relatable.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Salesman's violence. What's shown and not shown? How does that affect its impact? How is psychological violence depicted? What is the difference between that and the more physical form?

  • What is the movie's attitude toward sex and the unseen "promiscuous" woman? How does that compare to what you might see in a mainstream American movie?

  • Does the movie make you want to read/see Death of a Salesman? How do the themes of the play fit (or not fit) into the story of the movie?

  • What other Iranian movies have you seen? How does this one compare to them? How does it compare to American movies?

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