Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian master whose films have twice won the best international feature Oscar (2011’s A Separation and 2016’s The Salesman) and twice won prizes at the Cannes Film Festival (The Salesman and 2021’s A Hero), premiered his latest work, Parallel Tales, at Cannes’ Grand Théâtre Lumière on Thursday night.
The French-language drama, which is playing in competition at this year’s fest, was greeted with a five-minute standing ovation — which is, by Cannes standards, polite but not especially enthusiastic.
Adapted by Farhadi and his brother, Saeed, from a chapter of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s 10-part project for Polish television, Dekalog (1989-1990), Parallel Tales is a study in voyeurism and the sometimes blurry line between fantasy and reality. It boasts an all-star French cast that includes Isabelle Huppert, Virginia Efira, Vincent Cassel and, in a small role, Catherine Deneuve, all of whom do fine work.
But, as The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic David Rooney noted in his review, the film becomes a bit meandering and arduous over the course of its two-hour-twenty-minute runtime. And by the time the credits rolled at 11 p.m. local time, many audience members were drained.
Parallel Tales was released in French theaters concurrently with its Cannes unveiling. The film, however, is still seeking U.S. distribution.