Kingdoms will fall and seas will boil before a significant portion of the American movie-going audience goes to see a subtitled Iranian film like Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-nominated A Separation. But ...

The universally and justifiably praised Iranian film "A Separation" begins with a lengthy one-take shot of a man and woman facing the camera. They are Nader and Simin, and they are husband and wife.

Though you might not have guessed it from the brief and elegant acceptance speech made by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi at last week's Oscars, moviemaking in Iran today requires an authentic act of ...