The movie, The Salesman, directed by Asghar Farhadi, narrates the story of a couple of theatre actors in an already difficult situation, Rana and Eman. A lack of money prevents them from having both an apartment and a car, therefore they accept an invitation to move into an apartment offered to them by their friend Babak. What they come to learn very soon, is that the previous owner of the apartment was a sex worker who left her belongings in the apartment in search of another home. Despite the couple’s insistence, no one shows up to get the furniture. When Eman comes home one night he finds his wife covered in blood in a terrible state. She has been assaulted by one of the sex worker’s former clients, who was let in by Rana by mistake. Rana is deeply scarred by the event but can’t bring herself to talk about it and refuses to go to the police or to shower, in fear of re-living her trauma. Continue reading Retribution and Overcoming Trauma in The Salesman