Past Life (Hebrew: החטאים) is a 2016 Israeli drama film written and directed by Avi Nesher and starring Nelly Tagar and Joy Rieger.[3][4] It is based on Baruch Milch's memoir Can Heaven Be Void?[5] The film is the first of Nesher's planned trilogy.[6]
| Past Life | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Hebrew | החטאים |
| Directed by | Avi Nesher |
| Screenplay by | Avi Nesher |
| Based on | Can Heaven Be Void? by Baruch Milch |
| Produced by | Ruth Cats Leon Edery Moshe Edery David M. Milch Elad Naggar Avi Nesher David Silber |
| Starring | Nelly Tagar Joy Rieger |
| Cinematography | Michel Abramowicz |
| Edited by | Isaac Sehayek |
| Music by | Cyrille Aufort Avner Dorman Ella Milch-Sheriff |
Production companies | Metro Communications Artomas Communications Ars Veritas Productions Sunshine Films United King Films |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures[1] Samuel Goldwyn Films[2] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | Israel |
| Languages | Hebrew English |
Plot
Two Israeli sisters, one a classical music composer and singer, and the other a budding journalist, try to find out what their father did during World War II in Poland, after a Polish woman runs up to one of them in a Berlin concert venue and calls her the daughter of a murderer.
Cast
- Nelly Tagar as Nana Milch-Kotler
- Joy Rieger as Sephi Milch
- Doron Tavory as Baruch Milch
- Evgenia Dodina as Lusia Milch
- Tom Avni as Jeremy Kotler
- Rafael Stachowiak as Thomas Zielinski
- Katarzyna Gniewkowska as Agnieszka Zielinska
Reception
The film has a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[7] Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com awarded Past Life three stars.[8] Joseph Friar of The Victoria Advocate also gave Past Life three stars.[9] Peter Goldberg of Slant Magazine gave Past Life two and a half stars out of four.[10] Bruce Demara of the Toronto Star awarded the film three stars out of four.[11] Gayle MacDonald of The Globe and Mail gave the film two stars out of four.[12] Barbara VanDenburgh of The Arizona Republic awarded it two and a half stars out of five.[13] Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post gave it two stars out of four.[14]
Diane Carlson of KDHX praised the performances of Tagar and Rieger writing that they "present their characters' contrasting personalities beautifully, sparring like real sisters."[15] Hannah Brown of The Jerusalem Post also praised Tagar and Riger: "All the actors do extraordinary work, but the standouts are Rieger and Tagar in the lead roles."[16] Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times wrote a positive review, describing the film as "a page-turner that transforms into a clarion call: always compelling, but slightly stifled by noble intentions."[17] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote a positive review: "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."[18] Susan G. Cole of Now gave it a positive review and wrote "this is first-rate filmmaking, and the cast, especially Tagar, prickly yet tender, is very good."[19] Allan Hunter of Screen Daily gave the film a positive review and wrote "The initial set-up of Past Life feels clunky, but once we are back in Israel and the sisters reluctantly confront their dour, domineering father Baruch it settles into a more confident, convincing phase."[20] Alissa Simon of Variety also gave it a positive review, calling it "profoundly moving".[21]
