THE SALESMAN (2017)
A powerful revenge drama for discerning adults.
Should You Watch It?
If you want a drama that turns an ordinary conflict into immense emotional tension, The Salesman is worth your time. Its performances and direction are very strong, and the film creates empathy for several characters and the situations they face. Its central warning is clear: even small bad decisions can fracture relationships.
The cost is significant. The movie moves very slowly, though it is never boring, and its morality tale about revenge ends in brokenness rather than resolution. The thematic material and brief foul language also make it unsuitable for children and young teens.
Adults who can engage thoughtfully with difficult material should see The Salesman; families with younger viewers should choose another film.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESEmad and Rana are young theater actors in Tehran whose home nearly collapses, forcing them to find a new apartment. They move into a flat owned by a fellow actor, but trouble connected to a former tenant follows them.
When a frightening incident places Rana in danger, she wants to forget what happened. Emad wants justice. His search for the person responsible begins testing the marriage they are both trying to protect.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is a highly effective drama despite its deliberate pace. The Salesman is slow-moving, but it is never boring. Farhadi’s direction and the performances are very strong, and the film’s ability to elicit empathy creates immense tension from conflicts that might seem mundane by Hollywood standards.
The movie may be Farhadi’s most compelling story yet. Farhadi won the Best Screenplay award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and the film was nominated by the Golden Globes for Best Foreign Language Movie.
The Worldview
The Salesman presents revenge in a negative light. Its central moral warning is that bad decisions, even small ones, can fracture relationships and send people down a path of self-destruction. Rana recognizes that her husband is pursuing revenge, but the film ultimately shows the damage as brokenness rather than resolution.
Set in an Islamic culture, the movie is secular and avoids specific religious topics. It includes a few references to thanking God or praying, but it does not develop a specifically religious answer to the characters’ suffering. Instead, the film focuses on human choices, damaged relationships, and the consequences of going too far.
The film’s concern about revenge aligns with Scripture’s warning against taking vengeance into our own hands: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Light moral worldview where revenge is shown in a negative light, and the effect it has on relationships can be detrimental, with a few references to God and prayer, though in an Islamic culture; five obscenities and three profanities; though it’s not shown or entirely revealed how it happened, woman’s head is gashed after being attacked, and an old man is hit in the face and has a heart attack; no actual sexual content, but it’s implied a woman is a prostitute; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drug content; and, revenge but rebuked and lying.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
How can a seemingly small decision damage a relationship? What does Scripture say about guarding your heart and your choices?
Proverbs 4:23 · Galatians 6:7When is the desire for justice in danger of becoming a desire for revenge?
Romans 12:19 · Micah 6:8What does it look like to admit that you have gone too far and turn back?
Proverbs 28:13 · 1 John 1:9How should Christians respond when conflict threatens a marriage or another important relationship?
Ephesians 4:31–32 · Colossians 3:13The Final Word
The Salesman is slow, serious, and deeply engaging. Its strong performances and moral warning make it worthwhile for discerning adults, but its revenge themes and content concerns rule it out for children and young teens. Our answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.
