(CNN) -- When Iranian director Asghar Farhadi accepted his Golden Globe for best foreign film last month, he spoke a few words of thanks, paused and announced he wanted to say something about his people. Two nations held their breath. "They are a peace-loving people," Farhadi said, and then was gone. Brief though it was, his comment was eloquent, to the point and unsettling in its simplicity. Likewise his movie. Much of the reason that "A Separation" has made such an impact in the West -- a virtual sweep of the critics' prizes, a Golden Globe and two Oscar nominations, including a virtually unheard of nod for a non-U.S. screenplay -- is that it isn't a foreign film at all (except for all that Farsi).
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John Anderson says Iranian film "A Separation" successful because themes not foreign
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The film tells story of woman determined to leave Tehran but is thwarted by rigid system
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He says the irrational paranoia that drives Iranian regime has echoes in right-wing U.S. politcs
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Anderson: At a time of saber-rattling between nations, the film shows common humanity
If anything, it's a feel-good movie, albeit in a wildly perverse way: Having experienced the anguish of @placeholder's characters, the viewer comes away with the inescapable sense of our common humanity, the resounding sense that we're all in this life together.