But I think she was paying enough attention to notice what happened.
And in fact Termeh's failure to tell her father that Razieh did not steal the money drives the entire story. If she interrupts to say that Simin gave it to the piano movers, Nader pays Razieh, Razieh does not come back to ask for her day's pay, there is no push and no accusation.
Why doesn't Termeh speak up? Because she feels that if Nader learns that Simin gave in to the unfair demands of the piano movers, it will help drive them apart. The film has just gone out of its way to underline that this trait of not standing up for one's rights is the one thing about Simin that Nader truly dislikes. And recall how pleased Nader was when Termeh successfully gets the change back from the gas station attendant. Termeh is acutely aware of how much her father values this trait.
So Termeh makes a quick decision. By speaking up, she can save a woman she barely knows from an unwarranted verbal attack, but the cost will be an increased chance that her parents will never get back together. It's an easy decision to make because the former seems so likely to be inconsequential. So she says nothing.
In this movie the characters are faced again and again with making a choice between what is fair and just, and what seems pragmatic and likeliest to be most helpful. In this case, the pragmatic choice turns out to be disastrous, in other cases, the fair and just choice turns out just as badly. But every decision that every character makes is defensible at the time.
Prepare your minds for a new scale of physical, scientific values, gentlemen.
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MeSdEuXcEnTs
13 years ago
I didn't get the impression that Termeh had realized her mom had taken the money, or at least she never showed remorse, unlike all the other characters. The only time I saw her feeling guilty was when she lied to the "judge" to support her dad's testimony.
Jan 25, 2011 the day it all started. Walk like an Egyptian or just protest like one!
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jerry4444
13 years ago
I think it was the servant's daughter who took the money (and hid it in her pink school bag.)
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erfan-guitar
13 years ago
Even if she had noticed, it didn't look important at the moment, so it was easy to forget.
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photondancer
13 years ago
Termeh saw her mother counting the money but I don't think she saw her giving it to the removalists. She might have assumed her mother took it with her to pay expenses, in which case she might keep silent about it to protect her mother. Or she might simply have forgotten about it.
What's was interesting to me is that Nader, when Somayeh pipes up to say her mother didn't take the money, responds with "I know". How did he know? What made him change his mind? We aren't shown. I'm inclined to agree with OP that this was a somewhat weak part of the story. Razieh is horrified by the accusation of theft and vigorously defends herself against it both to Nader and the judge, then the whole issue is just dropped. Did I miss something?
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