Farhadi's 140-Minute Parallel Tales Stalls at Cannes as Critics Fault Overcomplicated Plot
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · May 14
Farhadi's 140-Minute Parallel Tales Stalls at Cannes as Critics Fault Overcomplicated Plot
9 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · May 14
A Cannes review called "Parallel Tales" an elegant but frustrating competition entry, saying its 2-hour-20-minute story keeps circling without delivering emotional or narrative payoff.
The criticism centers on Farhadi and co-writer Saeed Farhadi expanding the voyeurism setup from Kieślowski's "Dekalog 6" into layered fiction-within-fiction strands that diffuse focus instead of building suspense.
Isabelle Huppert's novelist, a homeless young man played by Adam Bessa, and Virginie Efira's dual-role character anchor the plot, but the review says the threads never cohere despite a strong cast and polished visuals.
The assessment is harsher than earlier mixed reactions at the premiere, reinforcing doubts about Farhadi's latest Cannes contender even as it showcases Guillaume Deffontaines' cinematography and Zbigniew Preisner's score.
Why did Farhadi's film earn a long ovation at Cannes yet leave critics calling it a 'frustrating' and 'convoluted' misfire?
Can the star power of Isabelle Huppert and Vincent Cassel ensure global success for a film critics have labeled 'superficially clever'?