The Past
Short description
Ahmad returns to Paris from Tehran at the request of his French wife, Marie, so that the two of them can complete the formalities of a divorce they began four years earlier. During his short stay he notices how badly Marie gets along with her daughter Lucie, and his attempts to ease the tension between mother and daughter bring to light a secret from the past that the household has kept hidden.
The film is a drama with a mystery element, written and directed by Asghar Farhadi. It came after About Elly and A Separation and before The Salesman in the run of features he has directed. Bérénice Bejo plays Marie, Ali Mosaffa plays Ahmad, and Tahar Rahim, Pauline Burlet, Elyes Aguis and Jeanne Jestin round out the main cast. It was produced by Alexandre Mallet-Guy and made with backing that included Canal+, Ciné+, France 3 Cinéma and the MEDIA Programme, on a budget of about 11 million dollars.
The Past was released in 2013 and runs 130 minutes. Its worldwide box office, roughly 11 million dollars, matched its production budget. Audiences rate it highly, at 7.7 out of 10 on IMDb from around 52,000 votes and 7.3 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller pool of 638 votes. A film critics' rating of 8.2 out of 10 from 157 reviews places it above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Ali Mosaffa learned French two months before filming began with the help of his wife, Leila Hatami.
- During the screen tests, director Asghar Farhadi instructed that Bérénice Bejo be made up and have cotton placed in her cheeks. He felt that without it, the actress's face did not look round enough.
- Asghar Farhadi cast Pauline Burlet as Lucy because of her resemblance to Marion Cotillard, who was initially cast as Lucy's mother. However, Cotillard had to leave the cast because Farhadi insisted on rehearsals, which she could not attend due to commitments to other projects.
- Asghar Farhadi does not speak French, so he used the services of an interpreter on set.
- Screenwriter and director Asghar Farhadi wrote the screenplay in Persian, after which he lived in France for two years to better grasp the rhythm of the French language. He needed this to better assess the accuracy of the screenplay's translation into French and to be able to judge the actors' performances.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
