The Past.
Moving from his native Iran to France, the Oscar-winning director of A Separation has created another smartly crafted film about another domestic crisis. This one suggests an Ibsen play set in modern, immigrant-filled Paris. Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) who has been separated from his family for four years, arrives in France from Tehran to divorce his wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo) at her request. In a series of revelations that unfold with the intricacy of a narrative dance-of-the-seven-veils, Ahmad discovers a family of complex dysfunction, including an angry daughter and his wife's new beau (Tahar Rahim), who has a comatose wife on life-support in hospital. The performances, including those by child actors, feel note-perfect.
At VIFF: Oct. 1, 9 p.m., Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts; Oct. 5, 3:30 p.m., Playhouse.
Watch this film's trailer and rate how much you want to see it.
Liam Lacey