The Past (2013)
"Le passé" (original title)

An Iranian man deserts his French wife and 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

Writers:

Asghar Farhadi, Massoumeh Lahidji (adaptation)

Stars:

Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bérénice Bejo	...	Marie Brisson
Tahar Rahim	...	Samir
Ali Mosaffa	...	Ahmad
Pauline Burlet	...	Lucie
Elyes Aguis	...	Fouad
Jeanne Jestin	...	Léa
Sabrina Ouazani	...	Naïma
Babak Karimi	...	Shahryar
Valeria Cavalli	...	Valeria
Aleksandra Klebanska	...	Céline
Jean-Michel Simonet	...	Médecin
Pierre Guerder	...	Juge
Anne-Marion de Cayeux	...	Avocate
Eléonora Marino	...	Collègue Marie
Jonathan Devred	...	Agent aéroport

Storyline

An Iranian, Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa), left his French wife, Marie Brisson (Bérénice Bejo), and two children returned to live in his own country, Iran. After four years of separation, he arrived in Paris from Tehran, at the request of her, to complete the divorce papers because she wants to start a new life with a young man, Samir (Tahar Rahim). He is ready to conclude the divorce but discovers that the situation is tense, especially between his ex-wife and his eldest daughter, Lucie (Pauline Burlet). He tries to improve this problematic relationship, but a secret and more information are revealed from the past.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | pharmacy | paris france | pregnant woman | cigarette smoking | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French Persian

Release Date:

8 August 2013 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

El pasado

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Memento Films Production, France 3 Cinéma, BIM Distribuzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marion Cotillard was originally cast in the lead role but she dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Bérénice Bejo replaced her.

User Reviews

a dazzling drama about the past

This film was highly expected among the cinephiles and film critics who had watched the Oscar-winning film "A Separation". this is the first time the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi makes a movie which is not only not in his native language (Persian), but he can't even speak a word of it! he seems to have done a great job. the main theme ,like his previous movies, is family relations and here we can see a detailed observation of the effects of the past in our life. we can't get rid of our pasts, but only carry it along...

The actors and actresses are in the right places. Ali Mosaffa powerfully portrays an Iranian man who comes to France in order to officialize his divorce with Marie(Bérénice Bejo), which is now living with his new boyfriend (Tahar Rahim). both Bejo and Rahim deliver promising performances and the young Belgian actress Pauline Burlet shows that her lack of experience can't prevent her from shining among the other stars of the film.the actors in supporting roles like the two kids(Elyes Aguis and Jeanne Jestin) are properly chosen and remind us of our childhood when we don't carry any packages from the past.

Many people from different countries worked in this movie together to show us as a result that the human sentiments is the universal language and we don't necessarily need our mother tongues to communicate.