Le passé (The Past) (2013)
89%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: 15 wins & 41 nominations
Beautifully written, sensitively directed, and powerfully acted, The Past serves as another compelling testament to Asghar Farhadi’s gift for finely layered drama.
The Past is like a game of Jenga, where each piece pulled out reveals a new layer of secrets and lies. It’s a slow burn of a film, but the payoff is worth it. The performances are top-notch, and Farhadi’s direction keeps you on the edge of your seat. Just be prepared to leave the theater with a lot to unpack.
Production Company(ies)
Screen Gems Jerry Bruckheimer Films, L Star Capital
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Rue de Paris, Sevran, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material and brief strong language
Year of Release
2013
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 10m
-
Language(s):French, Persian
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 20, 2013 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 25, 2014
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Bérénice Bejo, Ali Mosaffa, Tahar Rahim, Pauline Burlet, Elyes Aguis, Jeanne Jestin, directed by Asghar Farhadi, written by Asghar Farhadi, Massoumeh Lahidji, produced by Alexandre Mallet-Guy, drama, PG-13, box office gross $1.3M, reviewed by Kate Muir, Francesca Steele, Ryan Gilbey, Mark Kermode, Laurence Phelan, Derek Malcolm, Brian Eggert, David Walsh, Debbie Lynn Elias, Nicholas Bell, C.J Prince, divorce, estranged wife, new lover, France, Iranian man, mature thematic material, brief strong language, finely layered drama, beautifully written, sensitively directed, powerfully acted, intricate stories, relationship dramas, naturalistic tone, conversation, character drama, relatable narrative, simplistic, complicated, common issues, baggage, secrets, lies, emotionally charged, finely staged script, engrossing performances, melodrama, formulaic, subtle emotional shifts, unsparing eye for detail, grounded, realistic portrait, exquisitely made film, finely layered drama
Worldwide gross: $12,673,462
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $16,099,708
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,795
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,755,693
US/Canada gross: $1,331,747
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,691,782
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,079
US/Canada opening weekend: $29,270
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $37,183
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,296
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $11,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $13,973,828
Production budget ranking: 1,539
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $7,524,907
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$5,399,027
ROI to date (est.): -25%
ROI ranking: 1,538
Ali Mosaffa – Ahmad
Tahar Rahim – Samir
Pauline Burlet – Lucie
Elyes Aguis – Fouad
Jeanne Jestin – Lea
Director(s)
Asghar Farhadi
Writer(s)
Asghar Farhadi, Massoumeh Lahidji, Asghar Farhadi
Producer(s)
Alexandre Mallet-Guy
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
15 wins & 41 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (156) | Top Critics (55) | Fresh (144) | Rotten (12)
No one wins in this ambiguous, accomplished film, which ends by burdening the audience with a secret that none of the characters will ever know.
January 1, 2018
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The Past never forgets its domestic focus, and [Asghar] Farhadi’s keen eye for subtle emotional shifts keeps the story afloat.
August 11, 2017
Francesca Steele
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
While Farhadi’s eye for detail is as unsparing as ever, his style this time around has begun to look formulaic.
April 3, 2014
Ryan Gilbey
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
Farhadi finds his characters trapped, not by the constraints of an overbearing authority but by the spectre of the past.
March 30, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
With its sympathies forever shifting among its characters, the film asks whether the truth is ever even objectively knowable, let alone whether honesty is always the best policy.
March 28, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
Laurence Phelan
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
This is an exquisitely made film which probes away at the rawest, most intimate emotions of its characters with a delicacy and insight reminiscent of Krzysztof Kieslowski in his prime.
March 28, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Derek Malcolm
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
By the end, the experience pulls us through unlikely turns. Yet, Farhadi’s skill as a dramatist makes the proceedings feel grounded in a remarkably realistic portrait.
May 12, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
The film is something of a long-winded melodrama, although it has truthful moments and circumstances and all the performers work diligently.
February 12, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
The Past is very much in the present.
January 8, 2020
Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens
While The Past may not trump Farhadi’s previous work, it’s still an excellent piece of melodramatic cinema, with a finely staged script and engrossing performances.
August 12, 2019
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
A tale of divorce unfolds as an onion-skin riddle of secrets and lies. It’s torqued with enough revelations that it would be melodrama if it were not so exquisitely rendered.
August 7, 2019
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
Nonethless, The Past is still a very good film with an excellent screenplay (don’t be surprised if Farhadi picks up another Oscar nomination for this) and direction.
June 27, 2019 | Rating: 7.5/10
C.J. Prince
Way Too Indie…
Plot
An Iranian man returns to France to finalize his divorce and discovers that his estranged wife has a new lover in the drama film, The Past.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Bérénice Bejo, who plays Marie-Ann in The Past, won the Best Actress award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in the film.
Asghar-Farhadi.jpg
