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In the moving and tense drama "The Salesman," Iranian writer-director Asghar Farhadi examines the limits of a husband's rage as outside forces threaten his wife, their home and his manhood.

Emad Etesami (Shahab Hosseini) and his wife, Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti), are actors in Tehran, rehearsing roles in a production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" — with Emad starring as the downtrodden Willy Loman and Rana playing Willy's devoted wife, Linda. As the story begins, the couple suddenly have to evacuate their apartment because construction next door has damaged the high-rise building's foundation.

A castmate, Babak (Babak Karimi), manages another apartment complex and offers the Etesamis an apartment that has been recently vacated. The couple have barely settled in when, one night after rehearsal, an intruder finds Rana alone in the apartment and brutally assaults her. (Farhadi, working under the restrictions of Iranian government censors, never details the extent of the assault, but what is left unsaid speaks volumes.)

While deciding whether to call the police — which would place Rana under scrutiny and force her to recount the terrible incident — Emad discovers important clues. There's a trail of blood on the steps, apparently because the attacker cut his foot. The assailant left his keys behind, and Emad soon finds the attacker's pickup parked nearby. And Emad and Rana learn that the apartment's former tenant, who left boxes of possessions behind to be picked up later, had a reputation among the neighbors as a prostitute, and the attacker may have been one of her clients.

Emad tries to carry on as before, tending to Rana, teaching literature to high-school boys and preparing for the play's opening. But, like Willy Loman, he finds himself pummeled by forces outside his control — and, like Linda, he has nagging questions about his spouse's fidelity.

Farhadi, who won an Academy Award for his 2011 marital drama "A Separation," mines Miller's play — and the universal experience of linking real life to the theater — for maximum emotional impact. The fate of the theatrical production rises and falls with the changes in the Etesamis' relationship, and soon Emad's anger and impotence become almost indistinguishable from Willy Loman's.

Farhadi has worked before with Hosseini and Alidoosti, and the mutual trust between actors and director shines through the performances. Hosseini provides a slow burn as Emad fights the futility of his situation, until he blows up in a dangerous fit of anger. (His performance is reminiscent of Hugh Jackman in "Prisoners.") Alidoosti also transforms Rana, in a single moment, from a happy and vivacious woman to a battered and wary survivor.

"The Salesman," like "A Separation" before it, is nominated for the Academy Award in the Foreign Language Film category — though Farhadi has announced he will not attend the ceremony in Hollywood, in protest against President Trump's travel ban against people from majority-Muslim nations like Iran. That's a double shame, because talent like Farhadi's and a story like "The Salesman" are so precious exactly because they cross borders to illuminate the common bonds all people share. As Arthur Miller himself wrote, attention must be paid.

Twitter: @moviecricket —

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'The Salesman'

A theatrical couple find their home and marriage rocked, literally and figuratively, in this moving drama from Iran.

Where • Broadway Centre Cinemas.

When • Opens Friday, Feb. 17.

Rating • PG-13 for mature thematic elements and a brief bloody image.

Running time • 125 minutes; in Persian with subtitles.