'Parallel Tales' Review: Farhadi's Kieślowski Adaptation Falls Flat
By
David Ehrlich
Hot, fresh, and worth queueing round the block for.
Summary
Asghar Farhadi's "Parallel Tales" is a loose adaptation of Krzysztof Kieślowski's "A Short Film About Love" that fails to capture the depth of the original. The film explores voyeurism through the story of a novelist (played by Isabelle Huppert) who spies on her neighbors, but the review criticizes it as cramped, tedious, and lacking substance. Where Kieślowski's original found rich humanity in voyeurism, Farhadi's version is described as a meandering daydream that offers little of interest to watch.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledLoosely adapting 'A Short Film About Love' into a long film about nothing, Asghar Farhadi's cramped and tedious 'Parallel Tales' forfeits the sordid humanity of Krzysztof Kieślowski's masterpiece in exchange for the soapy meta-fiction of a meandering daydream.
Where Kieślowski trusted in the richness of what spying on strangers might reveal about ourselves, Farhadi — dead in th
struggles to find anything of interest to show us
You might also wanna read
Backrooms Review: Feature-Length Adaptation Loses the Short's Horror Magic
A review of the film 'Backrooms' directed by Kane Parsons, arguing that while the concept works brilliantly as a short-form horror piece, th
Cannes 2026 Review: Nicholas Winding Refn's 'Her Private Hell' Falls Flat as a Neon-Lit Bore
A critical review of Nicholas Winding Refn's film 'Her Private Hell' premiering at the Cannes Film Festival 2026. The reviewer finds the fil
Decider·3d ago
Review: Kore-eda's 'Sheep in the Box' struggles with its sci-fi premise
The article discusses director Kore-eda's sci-fi film 'Sheep in the Box,' noting that while it features his familiar thematic territory, the