The Architecture of Belonging: Space, Time, and Embodiment in Asghar Farhadi's The Past (Le Passé 2013)

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This study examines Asghar Farhadi’s film The Past (2013) through the lens of home and belonging in transnational contexts. Utilizing frameworks from diaspora studies, cultural theory, and film studies, it analyzes how Farhadi constructs notions of home through cinematic language, character development, and narrative structure. The analysis focuses on spatial, temporal, and embodied experiences of home, exploring how domestic spaces like Marie’s house serve as sites of cultural negotiation, how past experiences shape identities, and how sensory memories contribute to belonging. The study argues that Farhadi portrays home as a dynamic concept transcending national boundaries, illuminating the ongoing process of homing in diaspora. By offering a nuanced exploration of transnational identities, this analysis enriches understanding of Farhadi’s work and contributes new insights into the potential of film to articulate complex experiences of migration and cultural displacement in a globalized world.