Family drama is a surefire future classic
FILM
THE PAST
Cert 12a | By Alex Dymoke
Five Stars
NAMING a film after a big, weighty abstract noun like “the past” demands something serious and monumental – The Past is just that. It’s a slow-burning, intelligent and unexpectedly gripping family drama about the power exerted by the past over the present, and the impossibility of moving on when you’re too determined to do so. Iranian film-maker Asghar Farhadi constructs the emotional lives of his characters with remarkable generosity: there are no dark secrets here, only mistakes, wrong decisions and ocean-sized regret.
Farhadi’s Oscar-winning 2011 A Separation ended with a divorce; The Past begins with a reunion. Ahmad has flown in from an unknown location to meet Marie, who awaits him anxiously in the airport car-park. Whatever their connection – old friends? Ex-lovers? Siblings? – one thing is certain; they have history.
We soon find out that four years ago, Ahmad and Marie used to be married. They have reunited to enact a momentous break from the past – the signing of divorce papers – but as Marie’s new partner Samir notes, their arguing suggests neither has fully moved on. He’s right; an ancient affection softens the harsh words, but Samir has his own void to fill, too. His marriage was cut short by the suicide attempt that left his wife comatose.
The stickiness of the past is manifested in the pace of the film. Characters withhold key information that halts the narrative momentum, resulting in a glacial slowness made entirely tolerable by consistently engaging, minutely observed performances. In some ways it’s like a stage play, but the beautiful cinematography allows it to be much quieter than any play could afford to be. This is serious film-making that interrogates real-life adult problems in a way that disappointingly few films do these days.
The Past cements Farhadi’s position as one of the finest film-makers working.