Forushande (2016)

Farhadi. Hands down the most formidable director working today. The man seems fundamentally incapable of producing a mediocre film. It feels a bit strange for me to be the one saying it—I’m essentially overpaying for this experience at a mere eight out of ten, a rating I've held since his absolute masterpiece, 'A Separation.'

Following the brilliance of 'The Salesman,' Farhadi shifts the setting back to the US. There is a genuine intellectual pleasure in sitting through any of his work, including 'The Salesman' itself. The narrative centers on a married couple; he's a professor, she's an actress. They even share the stage in a production of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman.' After their building begins to crumble due to an earthquake, they move into a new apartment. However, it’s the events unfolding within those new walls that trigger the true seismic shift, testing the very foundation of their marriage. As for what actually transpired? Neither we nor the protagonist truly knows.

And honestly, what is the connection between Arthur Miller's drama and the plot unfolding here?

Give 🙂
a watch.


P.S. I'll say it again, just so it's documented here as well: an eight.

The one thing I would have handled differently was that whole bit with the phone. When the husband finds the intruder's device sitting there in the apartment, he sees it's powered down. But he doesn't even attempt to plug it in or try to boot it up? Nothing at all?

I just couldn't get past that. This movie is supposed to be set in the modern day, and we all know that everyone uses the same standard chargers nowadays.

If he had simply plugged the phone in, turned it on, and realized it was locked behind a PIN, the logic would have held up. As it stands, it's just a minor narrative failure.

The phone itself doesn't even matter—it looked like some beat-up relic a construction worker would’ve been lugging around back in '97. And look, even in this day and age, we all know not everyone uses the exact same charger, so that's not really a "thing" you can nitpick. Plus, if the device is PIN-protected, none of that matters anyway. We definitely don't need a five-minute dramatic scene of a husband plugging in his phone and then squinting at the screen trying to guess the code. A smart director just cuts out that kind of fluff—if they had included it, it would've just been a total drag and killed the movie's pacing.

It wouldn't have been much of a delay, honestly. If it weren't for Pine, the protagonist would have reached the truck owner significantly faster.

The phone isn't some relic from '97; we're talking about a smartphone here. And sure, an iPhone comes with its own proprietary charger, while everything else uses a universal one. Even if he were stuck with some obscure, outdated charging cable for an older model, he certainly would have tracked down a charger much sooner than he would have bothered asking a student to have his retired cop father run a quick check on some license plates.

I mean, duh, it’s a smartphone. Seriously, what kind of smartphone in this day and age doesn't have a PIN? Mine has one, yours has one—who on earth is out here using a high-end device they dropped thousands of dollars on without any kind of security code?
And how are they even supposed to nail down who actually did it if there's no PIN? What, are they just gonna go around eyeballing random people on the street? I don't think the culture shown in his movies is really like that—people are generally more polite and respect certain boundaries. Especially privacy. Like, imagine a student with a dad on the police force trying to track down a phone number or something... that would be super awkward and messy, especially if it's just a prepaid burner phone...

Grace Sanchez50 said:Fine, let's call it a smartphone. But tell me, which smartphone in this day and age doesn't have a PIN? Mine has one, yours has one—who on earth is using a high-end device they paid thousands of dollars for without any sort of passcode?

Mine doesn't. Hahaha. 🤣 If I’d actually had a PIN set, who knows if I would have even been able to get back to my phone when I lost it once. Some stranger found it at a concert.

And by the way, you know how older folks often carry their bank cards and a little scrap of paper with their PIN written on it in their wallets? That’s why I'm assuming it's entirely possible an elderly person wouldn't have a PIN on their phone; they don't necessarily have to memorize it. Besides, not all smartphones cost a fortune; some are just cheap $100 burners. We have no way of knowing if the old man actually bought a new device. 😉

Even if the old man did have a PIN on his phone, it would have taken maybe ten seconds to try. At least then we'd have proof that the guy actually TRIED. As it stands, we have nothing.

What an absolute mess... you guys have completely hijacked this thread with that pinned post, and frankly, I don't even have one myself.
As for the movie, it was actually quite brilliant...

Lawrence Edwards58 said:Man, you guys locked the thread because of some PIN? I don't even have one myself.
the movie was awesome, though.

Look, if you actually owned a thousand-dollar device like I do, you’d probably have a PIN.

Wow, thanks for such a massive contribution to the discussion with that "but the movie was great" logic—really helpful stuff there.

Honestly, that’s a pretty silly comment. You can disable the PIN on any phone, you know—no need to post such nonsense. 🙂 I actually have mine turned off on my device as well.

Thanks for the movie recommendation! I'll see if I can track it down somewhere.

Grace Sanchez50 said:If you actually owned a thousand-dollar device like I do, you’d have a PIN.

Truly a monumental contribution to this discussion with that "but the movie was great" logic... what an intellectual powerhouse we have here...

I suppose you decided to grace this cinema forum just to brag about your expensive phone and belittle everyone else...
we're here to share impressions and thoughts; save your closing arguments for a courtroom...

And yes, as I previously stated, the film is excellent.

electrictrucker82 said:lol such a stupid comment. You can disable the PIN on any phone, just so you know—don't write this kind of nonsense 🙂 I have the PIN turned off on mine too.

Thanks for the movie recommendation, though! Hopefully, I can track it down somewhere.

Look, I'll hand you my phone right now—if you can actually manage to disable the PIN on this specific device, I'll give you 1,000 bucks on the spot. Some people just love trying to act smart, but I deal with this stuff every single day—it's literally my job. When I said "PIN," I was talking about the entire security architecture of a modern smartphone, not some old-school Nokia 3310 where sure, you could just swap it into some junk burner and bypass everything. But hey, you wrote "lol," so I'm sure you were definitely laughing out loud at your own brilliance.

And Lawrence Edwards58, honey, save those childish little semantics for a bunch of toddlers. The whole point of this forum is to actually talk about movies, not to keep a personal diary of every single impression you have. I'm still waiting for you to actually provide a real, coherent take on this film that might actually spark a decent discussion—something better than this incredibly dumb and pointless back-and-forth about a PIN.

I honestly can't stand those regressive religious groups; it makes it impossible for me to even sit through their movies without feeling completely alienated.
I’m talking about that whole culture of forced headscarves they try to push on everyone.

Grace Sanchez50 said:I’ll tell you what—hand over your phone right now, and if you can actually manage to disable the PIN on that specific device, I’ll give you $1,000 on the spot. Some people like to act like they know everything, but this is something I deal with every single day; it's literally my job. When I talk about a PIN, I'm referring to the entire security architecture of a modern smartphone. We aren't exactly talking about an old iPhone here, are we? Of course, you could bypass a PIN if you just swapped the SIM into some cheap, junk burner phone. I saw you wrote "lol," but I'm fairly certain you weren't actually laughing out loud.

A golden iPhone! Let’s try not to veer too far off-topic here, but could you tell us a bit more about what you actually do for a living? And which specific phone model are we talking about? My apologies to everyone for drifting away from the main thread, but I just received a legitimate job offer! 🙂))

The movie finally finished downloading this afternoon.

And of course, I couldn't help but laugh out loud!😛

@Jeremy Harris21/">@@Jeremy Harris21
What on earth does that have to do with anything?
Just because an African film or a Russian film happens to be set in a historical era doesn't mean you should skip it, does it? It's sheer nonsense.

I’m not talking about the plot itself, but rather those sweeping federal regulations that dictate the direction of cinema and culture at large.

goldenhound32 said:@Jeremy Harris21/">@@Jeremy Harris21
What does that even have to do with anything?
Just because an African movie or a Russian movie is set in a historical period, does that mean you shouldn't watch them? That seems a bit silly, doesn't it?

Lol, Russia being a "historical society"... and right up there with Africa. 🙄

@electrictrucker82/">@@electrictrucker82
This was exactly what I was dreading—that we would inevitably spiral into politics. I'll provide you with a response over in the 👍
thread.

Grace Sanchez50 said:Oh, for heaven's sake, Lawrence Edwards58, please save those childish little wordplay games and pedantic literalism for a playground... the point of this forum is to actually discuss cinema, not to maintain a personal diary where you log every fleeting impression you have about a movie. I am still sitting here waiting for you to provide an actual, coherent argument—or rather, a legitimate critique—of this film that might actually spark a conversation more intelligent than this thread with the pinned post, which, if we're being honest, was exceptionally foolish and entirely unnecessary...

And look, nook, I don't see you having said anything of substance regarding the film itself, aside from boasting about your phone, so perhaps follow your own advice and present some real arguments... personally, you won't be getting any meaningful discourse from me on this film forum unless you step up, nor am I going to go out of my way to encourage you... why don't you try motivating yourself...

It’s somewhere between a social drama and a thriller. A husband and wife—he’s a professor, she’s an actress—move into a new apartment, and while he’s out at work, someone attacks her. He becomes obsessed with finding the culprit and seeing justice served... but when you pursue justice at any cost, you usually end up with this hollow feeling where nobody is satisfied, and even "justice" itself feels unfulfilled. I’m not typically a fan of mixing film and theater, but here, it actually works for the movie—and likely the play itself. In this case, Miller’s *Death of a Salesman* in New York has a deeper connection to the plot, almost acting as a metaphor for the resolution. The film hits another crucial mark: it provokes curiosity. If I’m not constantly wondering what happens next, the movie has failed. It does a very good job 🙏

Lawrence Edwards58 said:Look, Grace Sanchez50, I don't see you actually saying anything about the movie itself—you just spent the whole time bragging about your phone. Seriously, stick to the prompt and back up your claims with some actual points. Just a heads-up, you aren't gonna get any arguments from me on this film forum, nor am I trying to help you out here. Figure it out yourself.

So, I was chatting with goldenhound32 earlier, and I already posted my full review in a different thread. And honestly? Mentioning the phone matters because it ties into my point! It’s the exact same deal as that "you only need to watch a movie once" debate we had—you're basically stuck in this tiny little bubble of yours where nothing anyone says can touch you. To be blunt, you haven't dropped a single intelligent thought on this forum, not then and certainly not now, especially when it comes to movies. I'm still sitting here waiting for you to actually contribute something meaningful to this specific discussion about the film, but instead, you just keep circling back to me and my phone. Like, seriously, how long is this gonna last?