Review // The Past

A family drama about fidelity, forgiveness and the inescapable nature of memory, The Past is a beautiful new drama from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi.

Set in the cramped suburbs of Paris, The Past follows Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa), an Iranian man returned to France to finalize a divorce with his estranged Marie (Bérénice Bejo).  Returning to the cluttered, child-filled house he had formerly shared with Marie, Ahmad bunks up with the young son of her new boyfriend Samir (Tahar Rahim).  We learn that though he is not their biological father Ahmad has a strong relationship with Marie’s two daughters, specifically teenaged Lucie who is not a fan of her mother’s new boyfriend, nor his plan to move in.  The seeds of this dislike revolve around a tragic incident involving Samir’s wife, the specifics of which are parsed out as the drama unfolds.

As Marie, Bejo gives a wonderful performance.  The confused and often contradictory mother walks a thin line between sympathetic and reproachful.  Bejo does not pander to our sentimentality but plays Marie as naturally self-involved, yet earnest in her desire to create a home for her children.  Though it is clear that her love for Ahmad remains, it is a thing of the past, hovering in the house like a ghost: not forgotten but never returned to life.

Like Farhadi’s A Separation (2011), the focus of the film is a family in turmoil, and the effects of a broken home on children.  As the outsider, Ahmad acts as our interpreter of the events.  We soon learn that the timing of Marie’s divorce request may not have been an accident.  Asked to speak to Lucie and learn the reason she so dislikes Samir, Ahmad soon finds himself embroiled in the family drama.  As a figure from the past himself, Ahmad soon has everyone looking back, reflecting on the incident that has caused the rift in their family, forcing them to confront it before they are able to move forward.

One of the leading voices in Iranian film-making, Asghar Farhadi has again crafted a narrative seemingly simple on the surface, but emotionally and socially complex beneath.  The Past is a film about how every event exists different in each of our memories.  Like the constantly obscured rear window of Samir’s van, no one ever has a clear view.  It is only when viewpoints are combined, when all the stories are told, that the final picture emerges.   The steady pace and slow reveal of information make the film play out like a murder mystery in which no one has committed a crime, yet all are guilty.

If art is about empathy, Farhadi is a true virtuoso.  His is not a world of villains and heroes, but human beings struggling to find happiness in a complicated world.  The natural performances of all the actors (especially the children) give the film a true emotional weight that will stay with you long after it is over.  Though his characters may not be able to connect, audiences can certainly connect with his characters.  Go see The Past before you’re looking back, wishing you had.

Reviewed by Evan Arppe.