The Past (2013)

Director: Asghar Farhadi

Stars: Bénérice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa
Runtime: 130 minutes

Synopsis: An Iranian man deserts his French wife and her two children to return to his homeland. Meanwhile, his wife starts up a new relationship, a reality her husband confronts upon his wife's request for a divorce.

Performances: 8/10
Screenplay: 8/10
Editing: 7/10
Cinematography: 7/10

Verdict: One person's past is a prison that no one can escape. As time goes by, people only learn to accept it rather than move on from it. Memories cannot be forgotten with ease and even the most simple of events have consequences that are impossible to fully reverse.

This is what Asghar Farhadi's first film that is not in his native Farsi language is mostly about. "Le Passé" sees a man return to France to finalize a divorce with his soon to be ex-wife only to discover that while he was absent, she had already started a relationship with another man. Add to the mix 3 children victimized by their parents' history as well as Farhadi's as always very refined penmanship, and you get a very human drama that only gets better as time goes by. The nuanced performances by Ali Mosaffa and especially Bénérice Bejo are more powerful than any word that came out of their mouths, which made their relationship one that never in the slightest look scripted. Not one character felt underdeveloped, and that's what made the watch such a fascinating one that peaked in the final 45 minutes.

Asghar Farhadi has impressed me with every feature of his that I've seen, and this one is no exception. Despite a runtime that I feel could've been slightly trimmed, it managed to achieve what it was aiming for in a very mature and human way, which is quite the achievement considering the fact that Farhadi doesn't speak a word of English and had to rely on a translator to be able to write and direct the film.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10