Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Past Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 25, 2014

Rarely -- or, at least, rarely in cinema -- is divorce a clean break with no major ill effects on the parties involved or their loved ones now forced into a broken home shaped not by love but rather court documents, visiting rights, custody arguments, and both open vitriol and deep-seeded anger, hate, and resentment. Director Asghar Farhadi's (A Separation) The Past follows the story of one woman's pending divorce, the awkwardness the finalization brings, and the revelations that come to light as the mix-and-match family struggles to find meaning and purpose in one of the most convoluted tales of love won and lost and familial dysfunction as a result of divorce that cinema has ever seen. To be blunt, it's a flat-out depressing film, difficult to watch for its dark and complex emotional themes and story details but at the same time a hugely rewarding experience in the prism of film as art. The Past perfectly combines dramatic hardship and cinematic beauty with a faultless vision and presentation. It's the craft at its pinnacle and one of the most enthralling yet challenging depictions of life's complexities ever committed to film.

That awkward moment when...

Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) has returned to the Paris suburbs from Tehran to finalize his divorce from Marie (Bérénice Bejo). Though the couple never had any children, they find themselves in an awkward situation when Ahmad is asked to share a room with Marie's new lover's young son, Fouad (Elyes Aguis). Fouad's father Samir (Tahar Rahim) is doing his best to fit into the family -- which also includes the young Léa (Jeanne Jestin) -- but is rejected by Marie's oldest daughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet), child of a man who now lives in Brussels. Lucie is largely absent from the home, returning only for a place to sleep at night. As Ahmad and Marie finalize the divorce, the truth behind the turbulent air pushing through the home is explored and the fate of Samir's suicidal and comatose wife is exposed.

The Past deals directly with the sort of difficult, draining emotions nobody wishes to ever experience, and it deals with them head-on. The picture is largely defined by dramatic negativity. It counters that negativity with very little hope, instead exploring a complex reality of inward and outward suffering for which there seems to be no immediate remedy. The film is not a knock on the mix-and-match family and it's not necessarily even a commentary on either the benefits of finding "true love" -- no matter how many partners one must go through to find it -- or on the rather deep physical and emotional pitfalls of divorce. It's instead a simple portrayal of the realities of divorce, an unapologetic look at several lives interconnected through marriage and divorce and the toll the turnover takes on the body, mind, and soul. It's one of the most emotionally challenging films to come around in quite some time, a truly dour, depressing, uncomfortable tour through the messy minefield of separation. It's oftentimes so overly convoluted and depressing that it would border on the comical if it weren't so serious, if the pain weren't so evident, the tension so thick, the doubt so palpable, the unrest so obvious, the poor choices to easy to see, the entire mess so hopelessly tangled. The picture's dark, practically unending push through broken realities, damaged souls, and negative emotions seemingly knows no end, though the film maintains a gripping pace as the audience is unable to let go, to take its eyes away not necessarily from the drama but the artistic beauty with which the film has been so exactingly and lovingly crafted.

Indeed, The Past is one of the best-assembled pictures out there. The precision through which it's been crafted on both ends of the camera is as beautiful as the story is ugly. This is filmmaking presented elegantly and with purpose, a deliberate, painstaking assemblage of direction, acting, production design, and editing that not only make the sullen story bearable, but instead captivating. Director Asghar Farhadi demonstrates a keen understudying of cinema structure and the technical know-how to achieve not only a realistic feel and flavor but a total absorption of his audience, effortlessly pulling them into the world and reinforcing the film's overreaching story themes and precision details with a discerning eye for structural nuance, shot composition, character development, and pacing. The Past is like film school in a two-hour examination of exactly what works and why in putting together the perfect dramatic film. The acting is equally superb. Ali Mosaffa, Pauline Burlet, Bérénice Bejo, and Tahar Rahim are spectacular, not simply inhabiting the characters but demonstrating an understanding and full physical, mental, and emotional command of the deepest, darkest emotions and, more importantly, what it is the film wants to do with them. The interplay amongst them is a thing of wonder, and they bring a sense of completion to a stunningly crafted film in every regard.

The Past Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Past's 1080p transfer is just as precise and mesmerizing as the movie. Sony's high definition presentation is a marvelous example of the format's visual capabilities, producing a clean, precisely defined, amazingly detailed, and meticulously colored masterpiece of high definition home video. Viewers will be frequently astonished at the realistic definition on display and the ease with which the transfer replicates real life with a cinema flavor. Clothing textures are nothing short of immaculate. Skin details are intimately precise, and accenting details -- wet pavement, worn and chipped paint, brick façades, and vegetation around the backyard -- all enjoy clarity, pinpoint sharpness, and an attention to detail that rises above even the best Blu-ray transfers. Colors are equally satisfying, displaying a striking blend of vibrancy and naturalism in every scene, no matter how bright or dark, interior or exterior, under any condition. Black levels are faultless, skin tones are even, and the image suffers from not a hint of noise, banding, blocking, or any other unsightly negative. This is unquestionably Blu-ray at its best.

The Past Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Past features a terrific native French language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack (English and English SDH subtitles are included) that's every bit as aurally satisfying as the video is visually robust. The film opens with a naturally immersive airport din. Public address announcements, footfalls, chatty visitors, and rolling carts create a symphony of real-life accuracy that dazzles the aural senses immediately and fully. The track's ability to command the listener's attention with precision attention to background and supportive sound effect details does not stop there. Driving rain effortlessly saturates the stage, whether heard in the open or muffled inside a car. Background city ambience is expertly presented as well, placing the listener in the middle of a number of locations throughout the film. There are only a few heavier sound effects that are themselves more supportive, mood-shaping elements than they are fully pronounced and hard-hitting elements. Nevertheless, they play marvelously, including young Fouad's pounding on a closed wooden door in one relatively early scene. Dialogue plays smoothly and evenly from the center. Musical delivery is precise and smooth. This is a rich, fully satisfying, and wholly natural soundtrack from Sony.

The Past Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Past contains a quality allotment of extra content. A DVD copy is included in the case.

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Asghar Farhadi jumps right in with a discussion of the technical and structural construction of the opening scene and moves forward to discuss the film's story and themes, its production design, technical challenges, performances, comparing The Past with A Separation, and much more. This is a wonderful commentary. With optional English subtitles.
• Making The Past (HD, 26:56): A study of the importance of filming locations and setting in the film; set design, construction, and utilization; building the film's themes and the subtlety within them; performances and actor preparation for the roles; the film's technical manufacturing; Director Asghar Farhadi's style; and more. This excellent piece includes some fascinating behind-the-scenes footage. In French with forced English subtitles.
• Directors Guild of America Q&A with Asghar Farhadi (HD, 38:30): The director fields a number of questions. The event is moderated by Victoria Hochberg. The questions are presented in English, and an interpreter translates the director's answers into English. With optional English subtitles.
• The Past Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:03).
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

The Past Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Past is a challenging, draining film but also a hugely rewarding watch. Few, if any, pictures have ever tackled so much emotional darkness yet so fully captivated as this. It's a brilliantly assembled and precisely acted tour de force of dramatic cinema, a veritable demonstration of the medium's full capacity as a vehicle for motion art. Viewers will be hard-pressed to find a more intoxicatingly dark and well constructed film. Sony's Blu-ray release of The Past features perfect video and audio. Supplements are rather few in number but very high in quality. The Past earns my highest recommendation.