Every year, American audiences get what feels like 3 million films thrown at them that are about American people living in America. On the flip side, we've gotten to see roughly one Iranian film that explores Iranian culture: Asghar Farhadi’s tense familial drama A Separation, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film last year and also earned a Best Original Screenplay nomination. And now American cinemas will see a 100% increase in films about Iranian men living in France.
Deadline reports Sony Pictures Classics picked up the U.S. rights to Farhadi’s next film, the multi-leveled drama The Past after its Friday screening at Cannes, where the film is considered an early contender for the coveted Palme d’Or award. It stars Berenice Bejo, whose performance in The Artist earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, and Tahar Rahim, who was in the Oscar-nominated French film A Prophet. It’s not out of the question to assume this film already has a foot in the door for Farhadi to take the trophy again next year.
In a role that was originally given to Marion Cotillard, Bejo will play a woman whose husband (Ali Mosaffa) had left her and their two children behind to go back to his homeland. He returns after four years to finalize their divorce, and finds the wife has taken a new lover. From there, drama of all shapes and sizes ensues, including pregnancy and a coma apparently. I’m definitely on board.
The film has no release date set just yet, and I’m sure The Past’s award chances will determine how close to our award season its date will come. Until then, check out the trailer for the film below.
