“The Salesman”- Movie Review

“The Salesman” is a suspense about a couple who have moved into a rented apartment after evacuating from a building in danger of collapsing. Shortly after the removal, the wife suffers a serious assault from an intruder. Since then she has been in constant fear though she tries very hard to get back to normal life. The husband is determined to track down the intruder as his wife refuses to report the case to the police. The rest of the film thus sees him engrossed in the investigation of the case.

The director gives a very careful description of the emotional struggles the couple have been through. The wife forgets her lines during the stage performance and the drama is suspended as a result. By making up his lines instantly, the husband, too, vents his rage against another actor whom he considers indirectly responsible for his wife’s misery. He tries hard to curb his anger when he finds himself face to face with the actual scum. What happens next throws light on a presumably unnecessary detail about his rescuing a handicapped neighbor while evacuating from the endangered building. A kind and caring person that he is would not have resorted to violence if he had not himself been traumatized by the abyss of misery his wife has been trapped in since the assault.

The director has succeeded in keeping the audience hooked to the investigatory suspense. I am particularly impressed by the ending. Just as everyone thinks that the case has drawn to its close, something more shocking happens.

Finally, the movie title is worth a few words. I think the English name is quite appropriate as the husband plays the role of a salesman in the above mentioned drama and, while having a class discussion with his students, he is heard talking on the mobile about the sale of his car, and they say jokingly that he is a salesman. However, the Chinese name, I must say, is not a good choice as it is not coherent with the very genre of the movie.

‘The Salesman” is an excellent movie well worth the honour of being an Oscar Award winner. I recommend it enthusiastically.