No one wins in this ambiguous, accomplished film, which ends by burdening the audience with a secret that none of the characters will ever know.

| Jan 1, 2018

The Past never forgets its domestic focus, and [Asghar] Farhadi's keen eye for subtle emotional shifts keeps the story afloat.

| Aug 11, 2017

While Farhadi's eye for detail is as unsparing as ever, his style this time around has begun to look formulaic.

| Apr 3, 2014

Farhadi finds his characters trapped, not by the constraints of an overbearing authority but by the spectre of the past.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 30, 2014

With its sympathies forever shifting among its characters, the film asks whether the truth is ever even objectively knowable, let alone whether honesty is always the best policy.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 28, 2014

This is an exquisitely made film which probes away at the rawest, most intimate emotions of its characters with a delicacy and insight reminiscent of Krzysztof Kieslowski in his prime.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 28, 2014

The film finally feels centreless, stateless, even a little cold: like the first work of an artist in exile.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 27, 2014

Tahar Rahim and Brnice Bejo are on top form in this immaculate study of marital disharmony.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 27, 2014

In the end, so much of The Past just doesn't have that crucial ring of truth to it. Disappointing and underwhelming.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 25, 2014

A bold, honest film about family life that showcases a terrifically unpeppy turn from Bejo.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 16, 2014

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.

| Original Score: A | Feb 13, 2014

"The Past" is long and occasionally feels slow - as real life sometimes does - but never false.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 7, 2014

Think you've nailed down a character? Wait another five minutes. It's rare to see so many characters, including children, afforded so much nuance.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 30, 2014

What a teller of domestic truths Asghar Farhadi has become.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 24, 2014

Farhadi proves again that he can craft a domestic drama that has all the tension of a thriller.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 24, 2014

A thickly knotted and compelling tale, set in an unglamorous, working-class Paris, it churns with complex emotions, suspense, guilt, and regret.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 24, 2014

Farhadi works like a master poker player, carefully revealing his cards and building tension with each new bit of information.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 23, 2014

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.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 23, 2014

Iranian writer-director Asghar Farhadi creates detailed characters in distinctive circumstances, bypassing script cliches of domestic tension.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 17, 2014

While not as powerful as [A Separation] ,The Past nevertheless is a fascinating, slow-burn depiction of a relationship in crisis.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 16, 2014