The Past (2013)

Yesterday, I finally watched The Past. As an Asghar Farhadi fan I expected a 2 hour window to the reality of life and I wasn't disappointed. It sure isn't as good as A Separation, but it has many of the defining elements that made A Separation the hit it was.

The acting is great. Not only the adults, but also the child actors perform marvelously. The dialog is quite life-like as in other Farhadi movies and it makes the arguments easy to relate to. What lags behind A Separation in my opinion is the story. It is a mixture of mostly the same elements of tension but not as well crafted. Blame and Judgment drive the plot forward but some of the subplots are a bit loose to the main story. However, I suppose for many of these shortcomings A Separation is to be blamed for setting the bar so high. As in A Separation, conflicts of interest between parents and children are conveyed thoroughly and I admire the movie's engaging representation of these commonplace issues.

All in all, I think The Past is a movie worth watching and I suggest anyone interested in a 2 hour window to some ordinary people's life to watch it.

Fmovies: Wow. Normally, I don't write an analysis for every single film I see, but I honestly found The Past to be one of my favorite films this year. Unfortunately, the fact that it's a foreign film means a lot of people will be missing out on this unforgettable experience. In sum, it's a story about a man who has returned to Paris in order to finalize a divorce with his wife who, in the meantime, is dating another man. Her teenage daughter is in a shambles and frequently stays out late, unable to face her mother and the new man she has brought home with her. Once her true father appears, the situation turns into a heavily intricate predicament. Deceitfully, the film's premise might seem overly simplistic; I assure you it's definitely not but seeing how the most simplistic films strike box office gold anyways, I can't imagine why audiences would gripe about this one?

Now, Americans, in particular, might not be familiar with the prevalence of a slower pace in European cinema. Admittedly, I found myself struggling with some foreign motion pictures (Amour being a recent- and most popular- example) due to their sluggish pacing. In The Past's case, all of its characters are so complex and the writing/storyline so brilliant that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. The grit and rawness is all there as is usual with European cinema and the realism so striking that the movie clearly serves a provocation of much thought and emotion. Disappointedly so, I stumbled upon several comments on the narrative being annoyingly plodding. "Absolutely nothing crazy happens in my first hour and a half of watching!" Some are used to palpable conflict/action, but the action here transpires on an emotional level. The impeccable acting does extremely well to service the script and- obviously- your investment in this intriguing tale.

The morality isn't exactly black-and-white for the viewers to pick and choose which character is the charming, perfect hero of the story. No, you're cast into this setting to study how real human beings would act in a parallel difficulty. If you're not quite too keen on a single character, the events that occur throughout might possibly change your mind, and suddenly, you realize that you understand and sympathize with this devastated and damaged individual as he deals with the problem in a manner that he sees fit. There's just no amount of praise that'd feel sufficient towards the remarkable quality of The Past. This is an experience you likely won't locate all too often in the realms of Hollywood since the plot solely rely on its genuine recounting rather than the implementation of intense sequences in between more dialogue- heavy scenes for the sake of waking up some disinterested attendees. Sometimes, we attend the movie theater for some fantastical fun, and other times, we attend it to explore some incredibly meaningful themes- films that engage us in more personal fashion. All in all, The Past cannot be blatantly disregarded amidst a currently lively time of movies- releasing left and right- and I probably didn't give the film adequate justice, considering my unexpected and brief review, but I wrote it regardless so as to inform the film lovers of a magnificent presence that'll hopefully grace a theater near you sometime soon (if not, just wait for it on DVD/Blu-ray).

Another Great storyline by Farhadi, I myself always hated movies and loved books, Asghar Farhadi made drama interesting for me, the story telling is amazing in his movies, no character is lost, everything has something to do with the story. All actors are greatly chosen, Berenice Bejo was as amazing as she could be, Samir and Fouad actors were also very good(and they actually looked like each other!), and Ali Mosaffa of course is a wonderful actor! Maybe this wasn't as great as A Separation but it kept me in front of the screen even for credits,.... He is a novelist, a long interesting drama by him again, A Separation, About Elly, Wednesday Fireworks, all amazing, He is in his early forties, We expect a lot more from him!

The Past fmovies. Asghar Farhadi is fast becoming my favourite storyteller of the century. Bringing Le Passe into the screen after his success with A Separation (I haven't watched Elly yet), I am happy to see the same elements (which made Separation memorable) existent in this film.

Both films at the core are focused on family drama, but different challenges altogether. Separation deals with the complexities on a religious viewpoint, and requires swift, high-level decision-making and clever communication skills to undo what could go awry easily in many places. Le Passe's challenge is different in my opinion, it is about the complications on relationship issues - something that is much more relatable to many families out there - that always appear irrational, devastating, and at times result in repercussions through generations.

Farhadi's skills as a filmmaker are unmatched - every single moment in this film is not wasted. His stories are like humanity itself, where things do not appear as they are on the surface and there is always something that more than meets the eye. Similar to Separation, in Le Passe, we see layers upon layers of twists, uncertainties, and agenda unfold and it ends up with the audience knowing that things cannot conclude with a simple solution. These factors, packed with impeccable performances by the lead cast members, are fortunately very very realistic i.e. not over-dramatic or nonsensical(though a lot of shouting war was shown).

The combination of brilliant, intelligent storytelling and impressive delivery of emotional performance is certainly what La vie d'Adèle fail to match - Le Passe is my top film to win the foreign Oscars this year!

Drama is beautifully presented through a regular daily life we all have but barely pay enough attention to. The way all characters are involved in the story line, each playing a role in making us look at the story differently is astonishing. Also, the way Farhadi shows us how unreasonable we are when, without knowing a true story, judging, concluding and making decisions and even insisting on them is significant. He is a master, as he showed in his previous works particularly About Eli and A Separation, in combining characters with different mentality and let them complicate a story by their various rationality. Everything is gray in this movie which might be seen lighter or darker by the audience based on what character he or she makes better connection with.

I just came home from seeing the movie, so it's fresh in my mind right now.

the qualities that this movie has: 1. masterfully directed 2. wonderfully written screenplay (the opening, the ending and the exchanged dialogs are all very well- written.very close to reality.no cheesy scenes.believable) 3. amazing performances

Most of the people who watch this movie, already have "A Separation" in their mind and are automatically comparing the two movies the entire time of watching.I kind of was doing the same thing. but I stopped that thought and tried to enjoy this and focus on this movie only.I'm glad I did so.in my opinion, the two movies are different.this one has a different theme and atmosphere and it's romantic at times. there was more tension in "A Separation" and almost all scenes were showing a stressful moment.but this movie has some scenes in between that are calmer.so it might be considered slow by some, which again I think, is because it's being compared with the director's previous work.

I personally think "The past" is a very well-made movie with an interesting story and a must see.I definitely recommend it to all movie lovers.

I give it a 10, cause I can't really think of anything in the film that I was bothered by, or any weaknesses.