Asghar Farhadi’s “Parallel Tales” is a reimagining of the late Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Dekalog VI.”
Executive producer Maciej Musiał recently told GQ Poland that the plan is to hire nine directors to remake the other nine chapters of “Dekalog,” with Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love” being the other one already shot — no doubt set for a Venice premiere this fall.
A French trailer has now been released for “Parallel Tales,” which has no U.S. release set just yet, but is scheduled for May 14 in France, the same week—possibly the same day—it premieres in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Unlike “Dekalog VI,” “Parallel Tales” is not set in Poland but rather in Paris, but if the trailer is anything to go by, it maintains the same score as Kieślowski’s film. It features an impressive French cast, including Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, Catherine Deneuve, Pierre Niney, and Adam Bessa.
The plot has Sylvie, looking for inspiration for her next novel, starting to observe the neighbors across the street. When she brings in young Adam to help with everyday chores, she doesn’t expect him to disrupt both her life and her writing. It has a distinctly French feel—stylish and suitably dramatic.
In a January 2024 interview, Farhadi revealed that he would no longer make films in Iran, citing it as an act of resistance against the country’s “repressive” regime. “Parallel Tales” is his next step, and hopefully it fares better than his last non-Iranian film, “Everybody Knows,” which was in Spanish and starred Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz.
Farhadi, a two-time Oscar winner, has directed one other film outside Iran—“The Past” (France). He is known for his powerful and emotionally intense Iranian dramas, including “About Elly,” “A Separation,” “The Salesman,” and “A Hero.”
“Coyote vs. Acme,” came very close to never getting released, yet, it almost doubled the weekend box office of Ridley Scott’s much-pricier “The Dog Stars.”