The new film by the Iranian maestro Farhadi falls short of being an unalloyed masterpiece only by comparison with his Oscar-winner A Separation and the enchanting and mysterious About Elly that preceded it.
His first film set outside his native land lacks the evocative cultural resonances that made the earlier films such complete achievements. It has some contrived moments - in particular the use of glass and reflections to represent characters' isolation - and its languid pace can exasperate. But The Past shows that he has not lost his knack for composing intricate domestic dramas that play like first-class thrillers.
When Ahmad (Mosaffa) returns to Paris from Tehran to finalise his divorce from Marie (Bejo, the leading lady of the silent pastiche The Artist), the pair are hoping to move on with their lives. But the film's title turns out to be laden with irony. Farhadi is saying that the past is never over, but perpetually playing out in the present.
With Lucie (Burlet) and Lea (Jestin), her two daughters from an earlier marriage, Marie shares a cluttered house in a drab suburb with her new man, Samir (Rahim), and his son Fouad (Aguis). Her failure to mention these arrangements to Ahmad before making him up a bed in the spare room is one of many misunderstandings packing the plot.
Ahmad is a calm, contained figure, less keen on the divorce than Marie is, and plainly missed in a household where he was a much-loved figure and a steadying influence. But what he uncovers may be beyond even his power to heal.
