A trilogy of a sort…
I spent my weekend binge-watching three of Asghar Farhadi’s movies — A Separation, About Elly and The Past.
All three are beautifully directed suspense dramas, that revolve around a certain change or incident in the family, and the domino effect that falls upon the family and friends.
In both About Elly and The Past, the character that is the eye of the storm is physically absent, but their presence is felt through repeated conversations involving them, and what they did, what they felt.
What I loved most (in all three movies) was how the truth unfolds through conversations, arguments, confrontations, between family members, friends, colleagues, revealing the little grey area between the black and white of right, and wrong, or true and false.
All movies are devoid of any background score and rely entirely on the weather, the cries of children, the cluttering of crockery; creating a sense of being with the characters, and not letting the viewers decide what they should feel.
I am not going to reveal more, but if you love a slice of life dramas, Farhadi’s movies are a must-watch.