MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Parallel Tales

Parallel Tales

2026 · 139 min

A slow-burn psychological drama that keeps you guessing about truth and fiction, with a chilly, uneasy mood.

Directed by
Asghar Farhadi
Genres
Drama, Thriller, Mystery
Starring
Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel
Overview
In search of inspiration for her new novel, Sylvie spies on her neighbors in the building across the street using a telescope. When she hires young Adam to help her with her daily routine, she has no idea that he will turn her life and her work upside down, until the fiction she had imagined surpasses the reality of them all.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: Parallel Tales

You have no lists yet. Name one, and this title goes into it.

All your lists

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Asghar Farhadi
Genres
Drama, Thriller, Mystery
Starring
Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • eeriestrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • obsession
  • deception
  • identity
  • isolation
  • morality
Places
  • big city
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • ensemble
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour2
Realism8
Romance3
Tension6
Darkness6
Complexity7
Emotional weight7

More like this

Titles like Parallel Tales

Movie

The Past

2013

A quietly devastating, intricately layered drama that slowly reveals painful truths through intimate conversations, leaving a lingering emotional weight.

Same writer: Asghar Farhadi · Tense, melancholic, slow-burn · about deception · ensemble

Also
Same writer: Asghar Farhadi
Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • deception
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
130 min
Details
The PastHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Belle de Jour

1967

A cool, dreamlike plunge into desire and deception, where fantasy and reality blur and nothing is quite what it seems.

Tense, melancholic · about obsession and deception · nonlinear

Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • obsession
  • deception
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
101 min
Details
Belle de JourHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Salesman

2016

A quietly devastating moral drama that tightens like a vise, letting everyday details carry unbearable tension and heartbreak.

Same director: Asghar Farhadi · Tense, melancholic, slow-burn · about morality · nonlinear

Also
Same director: Asghar Farhadi
Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • morality
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
125 min
Details
The SalesmanHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Three Colours: Red

1994

A quiet, intricate meditation on connection and chance, demanding patience but rewarding with emotional depth and haunting beauty.

Same composer: Zbigniew Preisner · Tense, melancholic, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · ensemble

Also
Same composer: Zbigniew Preisner
Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • identity
  • isolation
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
100 min
Details
Three Colours: RedHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

A Separation

2011

A quietly gripping, morally complex drama that keeps you tense and emotionally invested as it unfolds with painful realism.

Same director: Asghar Farhadi · Tense, melancholic · about deception and morality · ensemble

Also
Same director: Asghar Farhadi
Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • deception
  • morality
  • ensemble
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
123 min
Details
A SeparationHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

A Hero

2021

A tense, morally tangled drama that keeps you guessing about truth and reputation, with a quiet ache of social pressure.

Same writer: Asghar Farhadi · Tense, melancholic · about deception and morality · nonlinear

Also
Same writer: Asghar Farhadi
Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • deception
  • morality
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
127 min
Details
A HeroHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

School's Out

2018

A slow-burning, unsettling watch that keeps you on edge as a teacher's curiosity turns into dangerous obsession.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation · nonlinear

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • isolation
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
100 min
Details
School's OutHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Elize: Shadows of a Woman

2026

A slow-burning, tense drama that feels like watching a marriage rot from the inside, with a cold, melancholic edge.

Tense, melancholic · about obsession and identity

Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • obsession
  • identity
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
93 min
Details
Elize: Shadows of a WomanHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

Not a Stranger

2026

A slow-burning domestic thriller that turns ordinary trust into a queasy, nerve-stretching game of suspicion.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and deception

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • deception
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details
Not a StrangerHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

About Elly

2009

A slow-building, uncomfortable descent into lies and blame that keeps you tense and uneasy long after it ends.

Same director: Asghar Farhadi · Tense, melancholic · about deception · ensemble

Also
Same director: Asghar Farhadi
Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • deception
  • ensemble
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
119 min
Details
About EllyHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Caché

2005

A quietly unsettling film that keeps you on edge, asking you to piece together clues and confront uncomfortable truths.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about deception · nonlinear

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • deception
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
118 min
Details
CachéHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Only the Animals

2019

A chilling puzzle-box of interlocking obsessions, where each revelation deepens the unease and isolation of its characters.

Tense, melancholic, slow-burn · about obsession and deception · ensemble

Via
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • obsession
  • deception
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
116 min
Details
Only the AnimalsHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, thriller, mystery
Directed by
Asghar Farhadi
Written by
Asghar Farhadi, Massoumeh Lahidji
Starring
Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, Pierre Niney, Adam Bessa, Catherine Deneuve, India Hair, Véronique Ruggia Saura
Music
Zbigniew Preisner
Cinematography
Guillaume Deffontaines
Runtime
139 min
Country
France, Belgium, Italy, United States of America, Saudi Arabia
Languages
French

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata