The result demonstrates that Farhadi...is so deft at ingenious narrative construction and intricate character development that he can make first-rate dramas in any country and/or language he likes.

...another brilliantly mounted drama concerning fracturing families...

...a finely-crafted, sinewy drama that anatomises clotted and complex relationships.

...a piercingly insightful picture of a failing marriage framed within the strictures of a rigidly regulated society – the personal and political intertwined, with painful consequences.

...med ’Fortiden’ har han præsteret endnu en omgang uafrysteligt parforholds-horror, der går Bergman i bedene.

Kärlek med frågetecken. Ömhet och precision i komplicerat drama.

...filmens kunststykke [er] dens blændende evne til at skildre de enkelte karakterers viltre følelsesliv.