A Muslim woman discovers her husband's old videos of an ex-girlfriend.


NOW AND THEN is used with permission from Harris Alvi. Learn more at https://harrisalvi.co.


Aisha has been married to her husband Salman for some time, both making a life and home together in England. They seem like a contented couple, but during the moving process, Aisha discovers a stash of her husband's old VHS tapes. When she watches them, she discovers footage of his romantic past, featuring his ex-girlfriend Ella.

Aisha becomes obsessed with the tapes, watching them closely and neglecting the task of packing and unpacking. She realizes there is much about her husband that she doesn't know -- and wonders if she and their marriage are enough, as well.

Directed by Harris Alvi, this compelling short drama examines the gaps of knowledge between a husband and a wife settled in a seemingly comfortable life together, portraying with an almost forensic sense of intimacy how those gaps can haunt a spouse and threaten to widen into unbridgeable schisms, especially in the long stretches of midlife and the yawn of familiarity.

In many ways, the storytelling is spare and elegant, marked by a considerable restraint also apparent in the resolutely natural, muted colors and hues of the visuals and the observational camerawork. It constructs Aisha's life and relationship with an economical use of details and little dialogue. Most of the revelations come from the grainy VHS footage of Salman and his ex-girlfriend and Aisha's complex reactions as she watches it.

Aisha has stumbled upon a secret in her husband's life, and she's not sure what to do with it. The man in Aisha's life is friendly and affectionate but preoccupied in the way that long-time spouses can be, but the man in the videos is lively, funny and clearly in love with the girlfriend in the tapes. Actor Natalie Cousteau conveys Aisha's fascination, doubts and self-doubt with depth and restraint. As she watches a younger Salman and his ex-girlfriend, she becomes haunted by this remnant of her husband's past, creating distance at a subtly crucial juncture in her marriage.

Restrained, compelling and empathetic, NOW AND THEN has some cultural aspects woven into it, hinting at the complex dynamics of arranged marriages in Indian culture, for instance. But the film is universally resonant in portraying lifelong partnership as both a comforting place to land and a psychological mystery, even to the people within a marriage. With a delicacy of touch, it conveys the complexities of partnership, of two complex humans with histories and experiences that shape them. It touches on the true nature of intimacy -- and how beautiful and vital it is to keep sharing or being curious about a mate, no matter how long they've been together.