by Alex Deleon
 
As New York Yankees catcher/philospher, Yogi Berra, once put it. "It ain't over till it's over", but as the fest winds down, the smart  ninth day money is on the Iranian film Jodaeiye Nader az Simin ("Nader and Simin -- a Separation").

The Berlin festival is nothing if not political in tone, and this year the political emphasis has been on protesting against Iranian film censorship. However, this family drama is not overtly political in nature and the word is that it should win on its cinematic merits alone. Pic is directed by Asghar Farhadi and stars Leila Hatami, a leading Iranian actress who made a great impression in Darius Mehrjui's "Leila" early in her career back in 1996. Both Asghar and Hatami were here to rep the film. The film focuses on the beautiful Simin (Hatami) and her husband, Nader, a middle-class Iranian couple. When Nader refuses to leave Iran as planned in order to take care of his aged father suffering from Alzheimers, Simin files for divorce, separates from her husband, and goes back to live with her own family. Heavy duty social drama as well.

Details later.