Le Passé - The Past - DVD

Film: After four years in Iran, Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) returns to Paris to finalize his divorce from his still-wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo). Although they actually parted on good terms, Marie has so far kept quiet about the fact that she is now living with a new man, Samir (Tahar Ramin) and his son. Ahmad quickly senses that his older stepdaughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet) is suffering greatly from the fact that another new man is now living at her mother's side. The fact that Samir's wife is in a coma after a suicide attempt, while he is building a new family happiness with Marie, seems to play a decisive role in the girl's rejection. But the more time Ahmad spends with Marie's new patchwork family, the more he gets to the real, sad truth...

With Le Passé - The Past, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has directed a more than worthy follow-up to his Oscar winner Nader and Simin - A Separation. The film may not be as controversial or significant as its predecessor, if only because it is set in France rather than Iran. But the story, which is built up here with a depressing slowness, ends up being even more touching and emotional than Nader and Simin's award-winning divorce battle. Farhadi knows perfectly how to very unhurriedly open the curtain wider and wider, allowing the viewer to look deeper and deeper beneath the surface until the full tragedy of the plot is finally revealed at the end. Like Ahmad, the viewer has suspicions and fears, but the actual truth comes as a bit of a surprise.

Why this works so well on an emotional level is that this time Farhadi is telling a story that is rather universal in its intimacy, and could theoretically affect anyone, quite apart from cultural differences. It is a deeply sad story that is told without any form of overdone kitsch or forced happy ending - and that is precisely why it becomes so true to life and gripping. The great actors, especially Ali Mosaffa and Bérénice Bejo, intensify this impression and make the film great emotional acting cinema.

Surely, to just switch off and relax to enjoy the end of the day Le Passé - The Past is not necessarily the right film. But if you appreciate sophisticated arthouse fare with great actors, engaging camerawork and a depressingly moving story, you simply can't miss this film. Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The DVD presents the drama in good picture and sound quality. The visuals are convincing with a good overall sharpness and an authentic-looking color scheme. Smaller weaknesses in the detail representation in dark scenes are hardly negative weight. The sound is in accordance with the film rather restrained, but transports the dialogue well understandable from the speakers and provides through coherently mixed ambient sounds for an atmospheric sound carpet. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has a good making of (approx. 25:50 min), as well as interviews with Ali Mosaffa (approx. 6:54 min), Bérénice Bejo (approx. 7:37 min), Mahmoud Kalari (approx. 8:20 min) and Tahar Rahim (approx. 5:34 min) to offer. Good!

Conclusion: Le Passé - The Past is a moving drama that is extremely gripping despite - or perhaps because of - its slowness, making it even more emotional and impactful than Asghar Farhadi's Oscar winner Nader and Simin - A Separation. Great actors, engaging camerawork and a compelling story make this chamber drama a great piece of arthouse cinema, which is presented on DVD in good picture and sound quality and also offers bonus material worth watching. For lovers of more sophisticated dramas an absolute must!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp