REEL NEWS:Asghar Farhadi's A Separation, a tale of marital strife from Iran, has been picking up gongs wherever it goes.

It won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. It has a Golden Globe and is nominated for an Oscar. But sources close to the Iranian leadership are starting to get antsy about the film's success. Masoud Ferasati, a writer who supports the regime, appeared on state-sponsored television to spout: "The image of our society that A Separationdepicts is the dirty picture westerners are wishing for." With all this talk of "dirty" pictures one can't help but think of Ireland in the 1970s.