How a stage production of Death of a Salesman mirrors a modern Iranian tragedy
In short: When a married couple in Tehran is forced to flee their collapsing apartment, they unknowingly move into a space haunted by the previous tenant's secrets. Director Asghar Farhadi weaves Arthur Miller’s classic play into this tense drama, exploring themes of humiliation, empathy, and the crumbling nature of human relationships.
The Salesman, written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, follows Emad and Rana, a married couple who are both actors performing in a local production of Arthur Miller's 1949 play, Death of a Salesman. Their lives are upended when they move into a new apartment previously occupied by a woman who had conflicts with her clients. After Rana is assaulted by an intruder in their home, Emad begins a desperate, obsessive search for the culprit. This quest for vengeance forces him to confront his own morality and capacity for empathy, themes Farhadi intentionally mirrored from Miller’s original work.
Farhadi, who had long considered the story, felt it finally coalesced when he decided to make his protagonists stage actors, allowing him to re-immerse himself in the theatrical atmosphere. He utilized the crumbling apartment building as a potent symbol for the couple's fracturing relationship. The film’s production, a co-production between Iran and France, was shot in Tehran in 2015. Upon its release, it garnered universal critical acclaim, winning Best Screenplay and Best Actor at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and eventually securing the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
The film’s international reception became deeply intertwined with global politics. When Farhadi was affected by U.S. Executive Order 13769, he chose to boycott the 89th Academy Awards in protest. He sent Anousheh Ansari and Firouz Naderi to represent him, with Ansari reading a statement on his behalf regarding the disrespect shown to his country and others. Despite domestic criticism from conservatives who accused the film of painting a dark image of Iranian society, it remains the highest-grossing Iranian film to date, earning $4.2 million in Iran by December 2016.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: The Salesman (2016 film)
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