'The Past'

Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) is returning from Tehran to Paris after an absence of four years to meet his estranged wife, Marie (Berenice Bejo, from "The Artist"), who has asked to finalize a divorce. He stays at her home, but any thought of patching things up dissipates when Marie's new man, Samir (Tahar Rahim, from "A Prophet"), shows up. Marie's teenage daughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet) is so furious with her mother she barely comes home, while Samir's much younger son throws hysterical tantrums. Ahmad is baffled and concerned by the tension in the household, and as he digs into the reasons why, he uncovers some dark secrets.

The hot and cold chemistry between Mosaffa and Bejo is fantastic — Bejo, in particular, is explosive — and Rahim, as usual, always has a hint of menace behind his reserve. Farhadi delivers a truly moving lesson in empathy, showing how hard it is to untangle the knots of emotional pain that drive people apart.