The Past

Reversing is more risky than driving straight ahead. You can’t easily see what is behind you, the blind spot is bigger. Thus opens Asghar Farhadi’s The Past. Marie (Bérénice Bejo) picks up her ex-husband Ahmad (Ali Mostaffa) at the airport in Paris, in order to finalise their divorce. They still know each other well enough to communicate through thick glass walls. But already as she backs the unfamiliar car out of the parking lot, problems arise. The past collides with the present, and the two become entangled. Marie is trying to create a new life for herself and her family with a new man. But shadows from the past creep out of the cracks, in the style of a classical drama. Excellent writing and heartbreakingly realistic acting never gets old. Farhadi has done it again. kf

Gala screening at Ringen Cinema Tuesday 15th October at 9 pm.

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (b. 1972) gained massive international recognition for A Separation, which he received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for. He’s been making films since his teens, and made his directorial feature film debut in 2003 with Dancing in the Dust.