Asghar Farhadi's 'The Past' is yet another masterpiece
Friday, 20 December 2013 - 9:30am IST |
Agency: DNA
He has just landed at the airport. She is
eagerly waiting for him. When she sees him, she waves. He comes towards her,
says something. There is a glass wall between them, so she doesn’t hear him,
but nonetheless says something in return. We see her speaking, but there are no
words, just lip movements. They both smile at each other and he starts walking
towards the exit.
This is the very first scene of Iranian
director Asghar Farhadi’s French language film The Past (Le Passé), and it
brings many questions to your mind: Who are they? Are they a couple? Why is she
so eager to see him? Are they meeting after a long time? The film answers those
questions gradually, but raises many new ones. Within moments, the audience is
engrossed in the lives of the characters on the big screen.
Farhadi has this to say about the use of
glass windows in all his films: “You can find this type of staging in all my
other movies as well. But in The Past I was more pertinent about it. For
example, in the first scene of the movie, there is a glass between the two
characters. They are talking to each other but can't hear each other. You can
understand this even better as the film unfolds: people talk to each other in
person but fail to understand each other. The beginning of the movie is in some
ways symbolic. It’s foreboding in that sense. Plus the windows suggest that
they are, at the same time, close but far away. This was in A Separation too.”
The Past was arguably the best film
screened at this year’s International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which
concluded last month in Panaji, Goa. IFFI has had a permanent venue in the Goan
capital for a decade now, and we can safely say it has established itself,
though the central government has still not officially declared it so.
The decision should have been taken long
ago, as happens with festivals the world over. The venue never changes, making
it possible for the authorities to have solid infrastructure in place
exclusively for it. Also, over the years the festival becomes the part of the
city’s culture (Mumbai, though, must be an exception as only film buffs are
aware of a festival happening in the city, the rest being completely
oblivious). One must laud the IFFI selection committee as it has offered top
notch films from all over the world, including Indian cinema.
The delegates and the media at IFFI were
looking forward to this film, and Farhadi’s past record had everything to do
with it. Two years ago, his film A Separation, which won many international
awards including the Oscar for best foreign language film in 2012, was the talk
of the international film circuit. Naturally, hopes were high and Farhadi did
not disappoint. In fact The Past turned out to be the best of the 35 odd films
I watched. It is also Iran’s official entry to the 2014 Academy Awards (Iran
had refused to send any films last year, to protest against a film called The
Innocence of Muslims, which was said to have hurt the feelings of Muslims the
world over and sparked riots in few countries).
The Past is well crafted, with tight
screenplay and brilliant acting. Yes, some of the shocks seem a little
contrived, but not to the point of disturbing the overall effect. On the
contrary, it creates melodrama and provides a breathtaking experience.
The Past doesn’t talk about the past – the
story happens in the present – but tries to raise questions about the past
getting entangled with the present, and becoming a hurdle for the future. In a
way, as the present is driven by the past, this past becomes the protagonist of
the film.
It is the story of Marie (Bérénice Bejo)
and Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa), husband and wife now separated for four years. Marie
is French and lives on the outskirts of Paris, while Ahmad has gone back to his
home country, Iran, after their separation. He returns to Paris to finalise
their divorce, and to personally ensure a closure without any bitterness.
Marie has two daughters from her first
marriage who are very close to Ahmad. Marie now wishes to get married for a
third time, to Samir (Tahar Rahim), hence this divorce. Samir has a son, Fouad,
of the same age as Marie’s younger child Lea, and the two ten-year-olds get
along very well. Meanwhile, Samir’s wife has tried to end her life, as a result
of which she ends up in coma, and the reason hinted is her husband’s affair.
Marie’s elder daughter Lucie is against her mother’s third marriage, which has
started reflecting in her behaviour with Marie. Marie expects Ahmad to talk to
her, and make her see how things are.
The story revolves around these
protagonists, portraying their dilemmas, their viewpoints and their stands on
things happening now or that have happened in the past. Nobody is a villain; we
empathise with everybody, and this is the strongest aspect of the film. Like
the peeling of an onion, every layer of the story reveals its own tale. After
every answer, the stakes are raised and we find ourselves entangled in another
quest. Giving examples would give away the story, which is so intriguing it
leaves you exhausted. The relationships are delicate, what with one of Ahmad
and Samir’s interactions being not so much a confrontation, but them dealing
with the fact that one is an ex and other is a would-be. Ahmad tries to fix
things, be it the pipe in the kitchen sink, the chain of a bicycle, or the
relationship between mother and daughter.
Many scenes bring a lump to your throat,
like the one where Lucie confesses to Ahmad she forwarded her mother’s and
Samir’s email conversations to Samir’s wife, or where Fouad tells his father he
wishes his mother was dead because that is what she wanted. Or the one where
Marie tells Ahmad she is pregnant with Samir’s baby right before they enter the
courtroom to end their marriage. At one level, it feels like everyone is
manipulating the other, but isn’t that what human relationships are about?
Don’t we do it in our lives? And we have our own reasons for doing what we do,
justifications for our act.
Just when we think – but we still aren’t
sure – we have the answers, Ahmad tries to tell Marie about something he did
while they were still together, and Marie bluntly stops him, saying she is not
interested. Maybe Ahmad, too, had a past he wants to resolve, while helping
everyone around. But is it possible to cut ties with the past when one wishes
to start afresh? Or does the baggage always remain? In the film, one of Ahmad’s
friends says, you must learn to say ‘cut’.
But can we?
The film ends in typical Farhadi style –
those who have seen A Separation would know what I mean – leaving many things
unsaid. And that is the beauty of The Past.
Meena Karnik is a freelance journalist,
publisher, and a film critic. She has translated the award-winning book Bitter
Chocolate, and is author of Gautam — the biography of ace glamour photographer
Gautam Rajadhyaksha.
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/review-film-review-asghar-farhadis-the-past-is-yet-another-masterpiece-1937983
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