Le Passé 2013

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: The machinations fester and ravel in a plot-driven film that, for all its references to detergents, never lapses into soap opera. Read more

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: If "The Past" doesn't equal the masterpiece that preceded it, it's still an exceptional film from a man who is clearly one of the best working directors. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The layers have layers in Mr. Farhadi's narratives. The title itself is layered with irony; the past is never past, but always shaping the present. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: "The Past" is long and occasionally feels slow - as real life sometimes does - but never false. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: What initially seems fairly straightforward grows increasingly fraught and complex as each successive layer gets peeled away, until it's nearly impossible not to empathize with everybody on-screen at once. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: Farhadi again burrows deep into his characters to tell an achingly intimate story, spinning grand tragedies out of minor lives in which the past lingers in the air, a perfume that haunts long after its wearer has left the room. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: An impeccable work that moves forward steadily and without much dynamic modulation, it's a movie not for people who want to escape the world but for those who want to understand it better. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Even with a bit of dramaturgical clunkiness "The Past" is fluid, intimate cinema. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The emotional stakes are large-scale, and Farhadi honors them by delving into their intricacies. All the characters in this movie, including Marie's sullen eldest teenage daughter (beautifully played by Pauline Burlet), are given their due. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: What a teller of domestic truths Asghar Farhadi has become. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Farhadi has pulled off the dysfunctional family mystery trick twice now, brilliantly, and perhaps three times in a row would be too much. But it's doubtful he will leave behind the fertile ground of family ties and modern messiness. He sees so much there. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: While not as powerful as [A Separation] ,The Past nevertheless is a fascinating, slow-burn depiction of a relationship in crisis. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: A wrenchingly intimate tale of lives torn asunder by forces within and without them. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, Film.com: Gossipy and hand-wringing, but graceful enough for you to safely call it art. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The Past is about people who wish they could erase what came before and just live in the now, but life doesn't let anyone off the hook that easily. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: [Farhadi's] gift for pulling us deep into the story, and for conveying the major burdens of these supposedly minor lives, is unimpaired. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: "The Past" is not as nuanced as its predecessor - and not as impactful, either. But this is still far more complex than most family dramas. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: The narrative complications can be distracting, at times exasperating, but they're finally irrelevant because Mr. Farhadi's filmmaking is so fluid, and the performers, Ms. Bejo, in particular, are so attractive. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: Farhadi is the rare director who can establish an atmosphere of intimacy that resonates with meaning and sentiment. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A thickly knotted and compelling tale, set in an unglamorous, working-class Paris, it churns with complex emotions, suspense, guilt, and regret. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The plot is the impurest of soap opera, but [director Asghar] Farhadi's artistry and resonant humanism transcend melodrama and cultural barriers. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: If "The Past" is perhaps not the same level of masterwork as "A Separation," it's still the work of a master. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: "The Past" makes conventional movies feel artificial. Watching the characters interact in this movie feels like "Here is real life," and real life just happens to be strangely compelling. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The Past is a compelling mystery tale wrapped in a riveting family drama, with the death throes of a marriage cloaking deeper, fouler things. Read more

Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times: Iranian writer-director Asghar Farhadi creates detailed characters in distinctive circumstances, bypassing script cliches of domestic tension. Read more

Jon Frosch, The Atlantic: The pile-up of twists and red herrings is slightly arbitrary, but Farhadi's sense of pacing is superb, and he has a genuine feel for the way our personal histories entangle us. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Farhadi proves again that he can craft a domestic drama that has all the tension of a thriller. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Farhadi works like a master poker player, carefully revealing his cards and building tension with each new bit of information. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: In the end, so much of The Past just doesn't have that crucial ring of truth to it. Disappointing and underwhelming. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: You never feel like you're in the hands of anyone less than a master storyteller. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Almost hypnotically compelling, spinning an intricate web of predicaments, emotional reactions and resolutions in a domestic drama that leaves the viewer reeling by its conclusion. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: Bolstered by performances that convey profound grief and remorse without look-at-me histrionics, The Past is steeped in the believable micro details of its scenario while also expanding to universals. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: It's as if Farhadi became too depressed by his own cynicism to keep the drama humming. The movie turns into a dour demonstration of missed connections. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: "The Past" has something important and powerful to say about the past. It doesn't shape or haunt the present. In a sense, Farhadi suggests, they exist alongside each other. Read more