The Past (Le Passe, 2013) – Film Review

Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa), an Iranian man has deserted his French wife, Marie Brisson (Bérénice Bejo), and her two children in Paris to return to his homeland. He returns to France after four years to finalise his divorce only to find his soon to be ex-wife’s new domestic situation is a minefield.

His wife has started up a new relationship with the young handsome but angry and controlly Arab man named Samir (Tahar Rahim), who also has a son and a wife in a coma. Ahmad is now forced to confront this harsh reality as he re-meets his wife and her daughters from her previous marriage after her request for a divorce. The older daughter thinks her mother is the cause of Samir’s wife comatose state and discloses to Ahmad the details of something heinous she has done in the past.

Subtly, complexly written and intensely directed by Asghar Farhadi, The Past is very powerfully and persuasively performed, with all three main actors standing out. This is a very impressive, claustrophobic, disturbing movie. There’s a lot of suppressed rage and anger in the movie, but a lot more deep hurt and endless regret.

It triumphed at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where Bejo won Best Actress award and film won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, though it lost out to Blue Is the Warmest Colour for the Palme d’Or and also lost out as Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes. This is the trouble with prizes. You can make a great film, as here, and go home empty handed every time.

(C) Derek Winnert 2014 derekwinnert.com