The Salesman

Asghar Farhadi's 2016 film follows a couple forced to move when their building collapses. In the new flat there is an assault. The husband runs his own investigation. The film turns the desire for revenge into a moral problem; the narrative places a theatre rehearsal inside the story. It won the Academy Award for best foreign language film. The director did not attend the ceremony because of a travel ban. It won the screenplay and actor prizes at Cannes. Who it's for: those who like drama built on moral dilemma. Who it's not for: viewers who cannot take sexual assault; though never shown, it sits at the centre of the narrative.