An internationally acclaimed Iranian director shot a film with celebrated French actors, but what deserves even more attention is the appearance of Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski’s name in the credits. Farhadi’s new film draws inspiration from Dekalog 6, Dekalog 5, and Blue, but the result lands somewhere between Rear Window and Monsieur Hire (the film adaptation of Simenon’s novel, referenced within the film itself). Where Kieslowski’s films, interpreting the Ten Commandments, used simple relationships to create profound parables, Farhadi plunges into a whirlpool of complicated relationships. He borrows only the premise of spying on a neighbor across the way through a telescope; instead of a story of true understanding and love, he devotes far more care to the film’s structural dimension and the equations governing human relationships. Taken from the title of the novel the writercharacter is working on, the film’s title evokes parallel worlds moving between reality and fiction, while also aptly describing failed relationships that remain on parallel tracks.
Asghar Farhadi was born in Iran. He made his feature debut with Dancing in the Dust (2003), and went on to win the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlinale for About Elly (2009). A Separation (2011) won the Golden Bear at Berlin followed by the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, making him the first Iranian director to win an Oscar. The Salesman (2016) brought him a second Oscar in the same category, along with the Best Screenplay award at Cannes. A Hero (2021) won the Grand Prix at Cannes, cementing his standing as a world-class auteur. Following the death of Mahsa Amini and the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022, he left Iran and lived in exile, during which he completed his new French-language film, loosely based on the sixth chapter of Krzysztof Kieślowski′s Dekalog. Parallel Tales, starring Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Cassel, and Catherine Deneuve, premiered to a standing ovation in competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
