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Israel, Poland · 2016
Rated PG · 1h 50m
Director Avi Nesher
Starring Nelly Tagar, Joy Rieger, Doron Tavory, Evgeniya Dodina
Genre Drama
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Two sisters, one an ambitious classical music composer and the other a liberal magazine editor, try to unravel a disturbing wartime mystery that has cast a shadow on their entire lives. In the process, they realize that delving into the past can be both painful as well as liberating.
Arizona Republic by Barbara VanDenburgh
Despite the seriousness of the subject matter and the characters’ complex emotional journey, the film turns into something of a thriller with twists that, given the context, beleaguer believability.
The New York Times by Ben Kenigsberg
Past Life is a page-turner that transforms into a clarion call: always compelling, but slightly stifled by noble intentions.
This is a striking and thought-provoking picture.
Village Voice by Kenji Fujishima
Past Life does add up to more than the sum of its heavy-handed miscalculations.
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
Uneven but ultimately effective, convincing in mood and emotion despite its melodramatic plotting, Avi Nesher's Past Life is straight-ahead filmmaking heightened by a connection to a pervasive Israeli reality not often found on film.
Austin Chronicle by Kimberley Jones
Ultimately, it’s the kind-of mystery that undermines Past Life’s emotional kapow. You can hardly fault writer/director Avi Nesher for trying to tease suspense out of the story, but he establishes early an ominous tone and stubbornly holds steadfast to it.
Washington Post by Mark Jenkins
Past Life is a family melodrama in the guise of a murder mystery. Strong performances and the shadow of the Holocaust lend the story poignancy.
Slant Magazine by Peter Goldberg
Its improbable story gives breath to the burden of fate on those living with a past unreconciled.
Past Life is best appreciated as an attempt to finally give permission, at the source of the grievance (Israel), not to forget, but to at least forgive.
San Francisco Chronicle by Walter Addiego
Despite some cumbersome moments, the film delivers a to-the-point message about how the sins of the parents can be visited on the children.
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