"“This may be small in scope, but it's immense in emotional depth...”"

After winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with his preceding title A Separation, it seemed somewhat inevitable that Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi would expand, and broaden his cinematic talents outside of the Middle East, and in The Past he has attracted a more renowned cast of performances, making the move – for the first time – into Europe. Though certainly a stunning piece of cinema, unlike his previous pictures, that also include the likes of About Elly, his latest is far less simplistic, in what is a more convoluted, melodramatic offering.

When Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) returns to France to be present at his divorce ceremony with his soon to be ex-wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo), he decides to stay at her residence, where he is confronted by the arrival of her new partner, Samir (Tahar Rahim). An ulterior motive for his supposedly flying visit, was to speak to Marie's troubled teenage daughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet) in an attempt to discover why she has been behaving so erratically of late. As he digs deeper into her mental state, he soon learns that she is solemnly against the pending marriage between her mother and Samir – with the latter's past wife at the forefront of such anguish, despite the fact she remains peacefully in a coma following an attempted suicide.

Farhadi has once again displayed his aptitude to portray real life with such a sincerity and realism. He captures reality with such devastation, and ensures that other people's problems mean the world to us. We're delving into one families tribulations and focusing in on relatively common themes – divorces, stroppy teenagers, depression – and yet he allows for us to invest so much, as these characters' problems become our problems. Farhadi has chosen to make the viewer's entry point that of an Iranian character too, and it helps – not only from his own personal perspective no doubt – but for ours too. Ahmad is something of an outsider, and represents the viewer in that respect.

Meanwhile, and as with all of Farhadi's productions, the acting is simply breathtaking too, and even the kids are brilliant – particularly Samir's young son Fouad (Elyes Aguis). That said, it's Rahim who steals the show – an actor who is fast becoming one of the most dependable in world cinema. It's a wonderfully crafted character though, as it would be so easy and predictable for Samir to be painted out as a villain of sorts, yet conversely, he's the most endearing of them all. It signifies a common trend that unites Farhadi's pictures, in that there are no real villains in The Past. You don't hate anyone. Yes, these people make mistakes, but they're just human beings and their shortcomings are relatable and can happen to anyone. Nobody is particularly vindictive or nasty, and to some extent, life itself is the true antagonist to the piece. The least endearing character is probably Marie – but even she has her positive qualities, and we are introduced to the role as she has a sprained wrist, and instantly a fragility to her demeanour is explored, and it's a vulnerability that persists and expands, to great effect.

The Past may be small in scope, but it's immense in emotional depth, and although Farhadi's Iranian productions are somewhat more special, this is by no means a disappointing experiment for the talented filmmaker. He's in a somewhat compromising position though, because given the nature and intensity of his previous two features, you'd be forgiven for expecting that 'Farhadi moment', where this placid, congenial piece turns completely sour in one unexpected second. However though expecting it, that doesn't necessarily guarantee it – but that doesn't stop you from feeling completely on edge throughout. God forbid he ever makes a romantic comedy.