Iranian director Asghar Farhadi may not have attended last year’s Oscars due to Trump’s infamous, failed Muslim ban, but he was still able to deliver a powerful speech about cinema and the need for tolerance thanks to a proxy that accepted his award for Best Foreign Language Film for “The Salesman.” With two Oscars to his name so far, he could be gunning for a third as his next film gets underway.
Starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, the still-untitled movie was announced before “The Salesman” but the director shelved it because he said the script was still gestating. Today, Screen Daily has new details about the project that has previously been under wraps.
First up, “Secret In Their Eyes” and “Wild Tales” star Ricardo Darin has joined the cast and according to the international trade, he’ll play Cruz’s husband from Buenos Aires. Previously no details were known about the film, but we’ve now learned it’s a “family drama and psychological thriller which will explore how the kidnapping of a young girl leads to the unraveling of family secrets.”
Additionally, Pedro Almodovar, who was producing the film, will no longer be involved. No reason has been given. However, the project may see Farhadi break out to a wider audience than his dedicated arthouse crowd.
“It’s Asghar Farhadi’s most commercial film to date and I’m looking forward to bringing it to the largest audience possible,” Alexandre Mallet-Guy, producer of Farhadi’s “The Past” and “The Salesman,” said.
Farhadi is due to shoot in Madrid from mid-August and the picture will be his first Spanish-language film. Even without Almodovar on board, his fingerprints are definitely all over the project. Composer Alberto Iglesias (who has scored nearly a dozen Almodovar films) is writing the music and cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine (“Volver,” “The Skin I Live In” and more Almodovar films) will lens the movie. Considering Farhadi’s pace and the love he receives internationally, a Cannes bow will be almost a certainty. Until then, we’ll pencil it in for 2018’s most anticipated and patiently wait for the film to arrive.