So, this came out of nowhere.
We had zero plot details about Asghar Farhadi’s “Parallel Tales,” which is practically a cinch for Cannes, with some whispers suggesting it might involve the 2015 Bataclan terrorist attack. That, however, has proven not to be true.
In fact, “Parallel Tales” is a remake of the late Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Dekalog VI.” Executive producer Maciej Musiał was interviewed by GQ Poland and confirmed the story is a loose remake of the sixth “Dekalog” chapter. Kieślowski’s collaborator, Krzysztof Piesiewicz, is also attached as producer. The plan is to hire nine directors to remake the nine other chapters of the series, two of which are already in post-production.
“Parallel Tales” will, of course, not be set in Poland but in Paris, and it features an impressive French cast, including Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, Catherine Deneuve, Pierre Niney, and Adam Bessa.
“Dekalog VI” is the sixth episode of Kieślowski’s landmark 1989–90 television series “Dekalog,” which is loosely based on the Ten Commandments. The story seemingly being tackled by Farhadi centers on a young man who becomes infatuated with an older woman, leading him into a dangerous obsession. An extended 86-minute feature version of this film was later released, titled “A Short Film About Love.”
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 has previously made only one other film outside of 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.”