The Past (2013)
The Past (2013), directed by Asghar Farhadi, is yet another masterpiece that involves reminiscence of the past, emotions, relationships, and family.
Like all Farhadi's films, The Past is slow paced without any music until the very end. It could be very dreadful for those action lovers to sit and watch from the beginning to end. However, for those drama lovers, like me, it is such a pleasure to see the characters and plot to develop over time.
What surprised me the most was the fact that this a French film with French actors as the majority. It was also surprising that Farhadi does not know French. He had a translator with him during the course of the production, but it must have been a huge challenge for him to pull through without knowing the language, or the culture.
It also surprised me that the whole film is so Farhadi. All of his works have similarities, such as giving all characters the fair amount of justice, the same motifs, having sound effects as background music, and the genuine, raw emotions.
Like all Farhadi's films, The Past is slow paced without any music until the very end. It could be very dreadful for those action lovers to sit and watch from the beginning to end. However, for those drama lovers, like me, it is such a pleasure to see the characters and plot to develop over time.
What surprised me the most was the fact that this a French film with French actors as the majority. It was also surprising that Farhadi does not know French. He had a translator with him during the course of the production, but it must have been a huge challenge for him to pull through without knowing the language, or the culture.
It also surprised me that the whole film is so Farhadi. All of his works have similarities, such as giving all characters the fair amount of justice, the same motifs, having sound effects as background music, and the genuine, raw emotions.
Lucy, who doesn't really have a father figure in her life, depends on the closest thing she has to a father, who happens to be Ahmad. She looks grown up -ish-, but is only seventeen. She carries this burden on her shoulders that appear through her dark circles. Her biggest reason to why she looks like she hasn't slept in days and so distant towards her mother is because she has seen things she shouldn't have.
She is a child and she glimpses at her mom's inappropriate relationship with a married man. For children, when their role models show even the tiniest bit of inappropriate behavior, they get shocked and lose their trust.
She is a child and she glimpses at her mom's inappropriate relationship with a married man. For children, when their role models show even the tiniest bit of inappropriate behavior, they get shocked and lose their trust.
Interestingly enough, lots of people see this film as a slow thriller, which I always disagree with. I see this film as a drama rather than a thriller, even though the plot revolves around the questions of what is the truth, who actually brought this mess, and what happened to Samir's wife? And we know at the end that the illegal worker is the one who sends the love letters to the wife, which makes are depressed and attempt a suicide.
The reason why I can say that this is more of a drama than a thriller is because the answer to these questions is not what this film is about. It is really about living in the present with the burdens from the past. For these characters, there are some regrettable events in the past that are unresolved until their present. This is why Marie has a weird relationship with Ahmad, and Samir looks more like an invader than a fiancé.
Another theme that keeps occurring in Farhadi's films is children dealing with the adults' mess. In A Separation, the daughters were put in the middle of their parents' mess. They were unintentionally, but inevitably invited into their parents' troubles about money, social status, religion, and lies. The Past also has children who are involved in their parents' relationship.
The reason why I can say that this is more of a drama than a thriller is because the answer to these questions is not what this film is about. It is really about living in the present with the burdens from the past. For these characters, there are some regrettable events in the past that are unresolved until their present. This is why Marie has a weird relationship with Ahmad, and Samir looks more like an invader than a fiancé.
Another theme that keeps occurring in Farhadi's films is children dealing with the adults' mess. In A Separation, the daughters were put in the middle of their parents' mess. They were unintentionally, but inevitably invited into their parents' troubles about money, social status, religion, and lies. The Past also has children who are involved in their parents' relationship.
It goes the same for Fouad, Samir's son, who is angry, upset, and so sensitive. He is just a kid, but still has seen so many things he should not have. His mother drank detergent in front oh him, his father always argues with Marie, and has to welcome a stranger, Ahmad, into his life.
Actually, Fouad, played by Elyse Aguis, had one of the most authentic acting throughout the film. He really had this raw emotion within him that just shows on screen. Six-year-old boys should be adventurous and and happy, but Fouad, acts like a teenager hitting puberty. He is really sensitive, doesn't talk much, and is always nervous around his dad. At the same time, he acts exactly like a six-year-old as he plays around in the house, carries his pillow around him, and misses his mommy.
Actually, Fouad, played by Elyse Aguis, had one of the most authentic acting throughout the film. He really had this raw emotion within him that just shows on screen. Six-year-old boys should be adventurous and and happy, but Fouad, acts like a teenager hitting puberty. He is really sensitive, doesn't talk much, and is always nervous around his dad. At the same time, he acts exactly like a six-year-old as he plays around in the house, carries his pillow around him, and misses his mommy.
There is a scene where Marie chases him around the house. That scene was probably one of the most emotional scene for me. For some reason, all of Farhadi's films remind me of my life. For example, this chasing scene reminded me of the time when my family used to host two brothers for about a year. They were from Korea, and they wanted to stay in the US to attend an American school to learn English. One was thirteen-years-old, and the other was ten-years-old, and they had some issues. The oldest brother was mister perfect who was neat and clean, and had straight A's all the time. The youngest brother, on the other hand, really struggled academically. He was artistically talented, but their parents wanted to see some A's on the report card rather than some drawings. It was only for one year, and I'm sure the boys had a meaningful time, but the hardest thing for the boys, and my family was probably the fact that we were not families.
For the boys, it was difficult to stay with a family they had never seen before, and for my family, it was hard to attend to their needs and make their problems our priorities. So sometimes, the brothers would get stressed out and get into fights, then run around the house yelling, "I'm going back home!". Interestingly enough, "I'm going home" is one of Fouad's line in the scene. Whenever this happened, I was the one to catch them and sit and calm them down. It was a hard job. I never yanked their clothes and shut them in their room like Marie does to Fouad, but I still had to deal their anger and frustration.
For the boys, it was difficult to stay with a family they had never seen before, and for my family, it was hard to attend to their needs and make their problems our priorities. So sometimes, the brothers would get stressed out and get into fights, then run around the house yelling, "I'm going back home!". Interestingly enough, "I'm going home" is one of Fouad's line in the scene. Whenever this happened, I was the one to catch them and sit and calm them down. It was a hard job. I never yanked their clothes and shut them in their room like Marie does to Fouad, but I still had to deal their anger and frustration.
Another thing that reminds me of my life is Bérénice Bejo in the film. I had no clue that she is actually Argentinian by birth and spent her childhood in Argentina. In the director's commentary, Farhadi says that he thought it was so interesting that she grew up there that he put this element into the film by making the house decorations very Argentina-esque. This so crazy because my Spanish teacher, who made us call her señorita, was from Argentina. She looks a lot like Bérénice, which really surprised me when The Artist first came out. I thought it was Señorita on screen, finally "getting her well deserved Oscar". She also dresses a lot like Marie in the film, and I am not sure how she decorated her house, but it must look a lot like the decor in the film.
Apart from the glass, and mirror motifs that are in all of Farhadi's films, there are some other things that appear in the film. The two-story house with a front yard and a small gate really introduces the atmosphere of the film. It is tall but narrow, has a gate that needs to be opened with a key instead of a remote or passcode, and has rooms that are adjacent and close to each other. It is also right next to a train track, where the train is always passing by. There is always rain that is either pouring or drizzling. Yellow paint that covers up the old paint is always wet. These are some of the motifs Farhadi uses in the film. Apparently, these elements are supposed to give the sense of washing away the past for a new presence, but to me they all seem like an external expression of what the characters must feel.
The rain that fogs up a judgement, the wet paint that could easily get smudged and get on someone's shirt , the glass that blocks conversations, the train that is loud and always so busy, and the apologies and promises that coincide together, all show what the characters feel.
Farhadi's films always have this unspoken tension.
The rain that fogs up a judgement, the wet paint that could easily get smudged and get on someone's shirt , the glass that blocks conversations, the train that is loud and always so busy, and the apologies and promises that coincide together, all show what the characters feel.
Farhadi's films always have this unspoken tension.
In one scene, Marie actually says, "Stop it, this is going too far", and shuts out Lucy. There is always an unresolved, or unsaid things and the characters sometimes tiptoe around a problem. And I believe that this is one reason why Farhadi's films are slow paced, sometimes very quiet.
But his films have strong character and plot development because of the external things that replace this tension. The motifs that are so prominent really gives us the sense of what is really going on and guess on our own what the characters would have said in place of the unspoken tensions.
But his films have strong character and plot development because of the external things that replace this tension. The motifs that are so prominent really gives us the sense of what is really going on and guess on our own what the characters would have said in place of the unspoken tensions.