& Asghar Farhadi

The Past

7.7

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.

Director: , Asghar Farhadi
Main Cast: Tahar Rahim, Bérénice Bejo, Ali Mosaffa
Soundtrack: , Evgueni Galperine
Cinematography: , Mahmoud Kalari
Screenplay: , Asghar Farhadi

Original title in France is Le Passé.

Cinema Premiere: March 28, 2014

What do English critics think?

English Reviews

15 english reviews of The Past (2013)

1. Tampa Bay Times

10 / 10

With "The Past", Farhadi again displays a gift for poking into corners of nondescript lives and discovering unique drama.
- Steve Persall
Tampa Bay Times »
2. IndieWire

9.1 / 10

Asghar Farhadi’s "The Past" confirms his mastery over exploring human behavior
- Eric Kohn
IndieWire »
3. The AV Club

9.1 / 10

"The Past" is another emotionally complex triumph from Asghar Farhadi
- Mike D'Angelo
The AV Club »
4. Arizona Republic

9 / 10

The revelations tend toward melodrama, and the messy complications would not be out of place in a soap opera.
- John Beifuss
Arizona Republic »
5. The Dissolve

9 / 10

Farhadi knows that fights between adults aren’t just direct hits. They also leave collateral damage.
- Scott Tobias
The Dissolve »
6. Wall Street Journal

9 / 10

The film is commanding in its own right, another exploration of a volatile situation — an estranged husband returning from Iran when his wife requests a divorce — in which flashes of insight or understanding lead to new mysteries.
- Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal »
7. New York Post

8.8 / 10

If "The Past" doesn’t equal the masterpiece that preceded it, it’s still an exceptional film from a man who is clearly one of the best working directors.
- Farran Smith Nehme
New York Post »
8. The New Yorker

8 / 10

his gift for pulling us deep into the story, and for conveying the major burdens of these supposedly minor lives, is unimpaired.
- Anthony Lane
The New Yorker »
9. The Globe and Mail

7.5 / 10

Domestic drama with all the tension of a thriller
- Liam Lacey
theglobeandmail.com »
10. Movie Nation

7.5 / 10

The surprises in "The Past" don’t justify its length, but Farhadi has created a believable, lived-in world of cluttered kitchens, cramped small businesses, a Parisian community of Iranian expats and the little people with big problems who inhabit them.
- Roger Moore
Movie Nation »
11. The Playlist

7.5 / 10

"The Past" ever so slightly fumbles from being great, to very, very good.
- Kevin Jagernauth
The Playlist »
12. Slant Magazine

6.3 / 10

Asghar Farhadi navigates his complicated narrative thicket with an apparent ease, but he isn’t able to blend the brushstrokes as he has in prior films.
- Chuck Bowen
slantmagazine.com »
13. The Times-Picayune

6 / 10

As slow as "The Past" is to get going, it never stops building to its eventual crescendo, which pays dividends.
- Mike Scott
The Times-Picayune »
14. Vulture

6 / 10

It’s absorbing for a long while, at least half its two-hour running time, but it goes on and on, piling on twists, adding devices so clunky they’d have embarrassed most nineteenth-century problem-dramatists, refusing to jell despite the actors’ prodigious suffering.
- David Edelstein
Vulture »
15. Time Out

4 / 10

There’s just so much of "The Past" that doesn’t have that crucial ring of truth to it. Disappointing and underwhelming.
- Dave Calhoun
Time Out »

Reviews by critics from other countries

Foreign Reviews

8 foreign reviews of The Past (2013)

1. Moviezine

10 / 10

Translated from swedish: "The Past" is a gripping relationship drama about parenthood, guilt, jealousy and betrayal that stands the test of time. This is absolutely sensational!
- Victoria Machmudov
Swedish: moviezine.se »
2. Expressen

10 / 10

Translated from swedish: "The Past" is hypnotic, gripping and almost flawless.
- Mats Bråstedt
Swedish: expressen.se »
3. Göteborgs-Posten

10 / 10

Translated from swedish: "The Past" is a tangled, broken family story that grows into a masterfully crafted universal drama.
- Maria Domellöf-Wik
Swedish: gp.se »
4. Fredrik Fyhr

10 / 10

Translated from swedish: Error-free, is the first word I will think of after seeing it. "The Past" is a flawless film. Every aspect of the film works. It's like a great emotional machine that generates empathy, sympathy, understanding and compassion.
Swedish: fredrikfyhr.se »
5. Svenska Dagbladet

8.3 / 10

Translated from swedish: The intrigue would have become too multifaceted and complicated if the director had not been so nimble and compliant with both the camera and the actors. The strength lies in the glances, bodies, and subtext: long-term lovers hastily embrace each other with bodies that no longer fit together.
- Hynek Pallas
Swedish: svd.se »
6. SVT

8 / 10

Translated from swedish: The family theme is universal, Farhadi explained at the press conference in Cannes last spring. Everyone can relate to that situation, he said, regardless of what language the tender or hurtful words are spoken in. If you judge by his filmography, you can only agree.
- Fredrik Sahlin
Swedish: svt.se »
7. Filmeye

8 / 10

Translated from swedish: Asghar Farhadi, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, clearly conveys that it is a pity for all those involved in this story, not least the children. Even though he does not judge, he seems to want to show that what is right for some family members has consequences for others.
- Jan-Eje Ferling
Swedish: filmeye.se »
8. Uppsala Nya Tidning

8 / 10

Translated from swedish: A sovereign film that takes its starting point in the everyday and turns it into a relationship thriller.
- Björn G Stenberg
Swedish: unt.se »