Rise and Fall of a Decent Hero: The Recreation of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King in the Iranian Film Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation) (2011) by Asghar Farhadi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/tlc.7.2025.20898Keywords:
Iranian Cinema, Greek Tragedy, Literature and Cinema, Oedipus, Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation)Abstract
The Iranian film Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation, 2011), directed by Asghar Farhadi, marked a milestone by winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, in addition to a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. This article argues that the film evokes structural and thematic elements of Greek tragedy, particularly Sophocles’ Oedipus the King (429 BC). From this classical perspective, it explores how Farhadi’s narrative strategy recreates essential motifs: the hero’s downfall, the tragic flaw, dramatic irony, the quest for truth, and final catharsis, thus revealing the enduring relevance of the tragic model in contemporary cinema.
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