Overview
A couple's life spirals into chaos after a violent intrusion shatters their peace.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- tense
- melancholic
- intimate
- thoughtful movie night
- international cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly acclaimed Farhadi's precise direction, morally complex suspense, and Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti's performances, while some found the screenplay artificial or the ending insufficiently subtle.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Emad's response to the attack increasingly collides with Rana's trauma and the couple's competing ideas of justice.
The couple rehearses Death of a Salesman, whose themes of humiliation, masculinity, and failure echo their unfolding domestic crisis.
The apartment, school, and theater are rendered as familiar settings where an assault's consequences generate quiet but sustained tension.
The couple's attempts to manage the assault are shaped by reputation, gender expectations, secrecy, and conservative Iranian social norms.
Films like The Salesman, and why
A Separation
Iranian domestic drama shaped by moral conflict, social pressure, and escalating interpersonal tension
The Past
Psychological drama about intimate relationships, trauma, and the consequences of concealed violence
The Hunt
Neorealist suspense centered on a couple whose ordinary life is destabilized by an assault and its aftermath
Elle
European social drama examining revenge, shame, and ethical ambiguity after a violent violation
Movie Details
- Director
- Asghar Farhadi
- Release Date
- 2016-06-24
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (958)
Cast
- Shahab Hosseini
- Taraneh Alidoosti
- Babak Karimi
- Mina Sadati
- Mehdi Koushki
- Farid Sajjadi Hosseini
- Maral Baniadam
- Mojtaba Pirzadeh
- Sam Valipour
- Shirin Aghakashi
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Salesman about?
- After an assault shatters their domestic stability, an Iranian theater couple confronts trauma, pride, and the corrosive pull of revenge.
- What is The Salesman like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Salesman as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Salesman violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Salesman as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Salesman?
- Critics broadly acclaimed Farhadi's precise direction, morally complex suspense, and Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti's performances, while some found the screenplay artificial or the ending insufficiently subtle.
- Which films are like The Salesman?
- Films with a similar feel include A Separation, The Past, The Hunt, and Elle.
- How long is The Salesman?
- The Salesman runs 125 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Salesman?
- In United States, The Salesman streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
