Asghar Farhadi
The Past
7.7 
8.5An 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
English Reviews
15 english reviews of The Past (2013)
-
-
9.1 / 10
Asghar Farhadi’s "The Past" confirms his mastery over exploring human behavior
- Eric Kohn -
9.1 / 10
"The Past" is another emotionally complex triumph from Asghar Farhadi
- Mike D'Angelo -
9 / 10
The revelations tend toward melodrama, and the messy complications would not be out of place in a soap opera.
- John Beifuss -
9 / 10
Farhadi knows that fights between adults aren’t just direct hits. They also leave collateral damage.
- Scott Tobias -
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 -
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 -
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 -
-
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 -
7.5 / 10
"The Past" ever so slightly fumbles from being great, to very, very good.
- Kevin Jagernauth -
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 -
6 / 10
As slow as "The Past" is to get going, it never stops building to its eventual crescendo, which pays dividends.
- Mike Scott -
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 -
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
Foreign Reviews
8 foreign reviews of The Past (2013)
-
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 MachmudovSwedish: moviezine.se »
-
10 / 10
Translated from swedish: "The Past" is hypnotic, gripping and almost flawless.
- Mats BråstedtSwedish: expressen.se »
-
10 / 10
Translated from swedish: "The Past" is a tangled, broken family story that grows into a masterfully crafted universal drama.
- Maria Domellöf-WikSwedish: gp.se »
-
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 »
-
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 PallasSwedish: svd.se »
-
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 SahlinSwedish: svt.se »
-
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 FerlingSwedish: filmeye.se »
-
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 StenbergSwedish: unt.se »
Box Office
The Past has earned a total of 12 673 462 dollars from cinemas across the world (the global box office).
Other films by Asghar Farhadi
About Elly
2009-
⏱️ 119 min
7.9
A Separation
2011-
⏱️ 123 min
8.3
1. Tampa Bay Times
With "The Past", Farhadi again displays a gift for poking into corners of nondescript lives and discovering unique drama.
- Steve Persall
Tampa Bay Times »