All in the family transcends a country

Writer/director Asghar Farhadi tends to make movies about Iranian families in difficult circumstances, and he’s been critically well rewarded for his efforts. 2011’s A Separation won the Oscar for best foreign-language film; 2013’s The Past was nominated for a Golden Globe in that category; and 2016’s The Salesman repeated the Oscar feat.

So it’s a little strange to find him suddenly working in sunny Spain with two of that country’s most bankable stars in his newest, Everybody Knows. But the “difficult family circumstances” certainly remain.

Penelope Cruz stars as Laura. She’s been living in Buenos Aires with her Argentine husband (Ricardo Darin) and their two children, but the family returns to her hometown outside Madrid for her sister’s wedding.

During the boozy celebrations, Laura’s teenage daughter (Carla Campra) vanishes from her bedroom; even more ominous, in her place is a pile of old newspaper clippings about another local kidnapping. When a text message arrives, demanding ransom and warning against involving the police, the extended family starts trying to crack the mystery.

Of course their investigations open old wounds and reveal family secrets; it soon becomes apparent that “todos lo saben” (the Spanish translation of the title) is a relative concept. Sure, “everyone knows” that Laura’s family used to own the local vineyard and that her childhood friend Paco (Javier Bardem) bought it at a cheap price, but ask around and you’ll hear all kinds of interpretations of those basic facts.

Adding fuel to the fire, Laura and Paco have a romantic history, though both are now married to other people. (And since Cruz and Bardem are married in real life, their sublimated chemistry sizzles.) When Paco considers paying the ransom himself, it raises the question of whether he’s driven by guilt, lust or something more altruistic.

It’s a stellar setup, but one that Farhadi can’t quite bring to a satisfying denouement. He raises so many questions within the sprawling, multi-generational family that the final act seems too simple, and too sudden.

Even so, it’s a great showcase for the actors, and proof that thorny moral dilemmas aren’t confined to one’s home country. ≤≤≤ Everybody Knows opens Feb. 15 at the Lightbox in Toronto, and Feb. 22 in Montreal and Vancouver.