Are the sins of the father destined to always be laid upon the children, as the Bible-inspired William Shakespeare quote reminds us, or is it possible for an individual to sack the negative aspects of their culture and lineage in order begin anew, unburdened by the hatred and mistrust the earlier generations had for each other? “Past Life” is a somewhat awkwardly written yet emotionally resonant drama that effectively asks that question via two Israeli sisters who struggle to find a way to live with themselves after finding out that their father might have done something unforgivable during World War II.
The year is 1977. After performing in a choir in West Berlin, young, idealistic composer/singer Sephi (Joy Rieger) is attacked by a strange old woman who claims that her father is a cold-blooded murderer. Shaken by this encounter, Sephi seeks her borderline misanthropic journalist sister Nana’s (Nelly Tagar) help in order to get to the bottom of this mystery. Their father is a respected Polish-Jewish doctor named Baruch (Doron Tavory), who understandably refuses to acknowledge his Polish descent, right down to refraining to even speak the language, since he went through hell hiding from the Nazis in a country that was beset by virulent anti-Semitism at the time.
Yet the reason behind Baruch’s insistence to stay away from anything remotely Polish, including his old friends, might be much deeper than what Sephi and Nana were told as they were growing up. As the sisters talk to Baruch’s friends, a horrible accusation about Baruch killing a child in order to save his own skin begins to emerge. Apparently, while Baruch and a group of Jews were in hiding, a toddler began to cry uncontrollably, leading Baruch to kill him in order to not alert the Nazis. Sickened by this revelation, the sisters have no choice but to confront Baruch about what happened.
As Baruch reads a confession to his daughters, giving a much more self-serving spin on what transpired, many questions are still left in the air. As Sephi’s invited to sing in Warsaw, by the son of the old woman who attacked her no less, she becomes obsessed with finding a journal that will allegedly tell the ultimate truth. Meanwhile, Nana becomes so depressed about her father’s past that she begins to believe that her recent health troubles is due to karma balancing itself.
The borderline procedural aspects of the first act, tightly paced and executed by writer/director Avi Nesher, provides the most effective parts of “Past Life.” By having the witnesses matter-of-factly tell the sisters about their father’s horrid past, the emotional impact of the story’s ramifications for the protagonists become that much more organically amplified. It’s when Nesher adopts a more melodramatic tone, actually connecting Nana’s illness to her father’s refusal to admit the gravity of his sins, implying that she’ll physically heal if Baruch redeems himself, that the film takes on a slightly ridiculous quality.
Another problem surfaces around the way Nesher structures his second act in order to build suspense, a choice that hurts the plot’s otherwise airtight credibility. After Baruch writes his confessions, Nesher uses a framing device, spreading the reading of the letter across many days, peppered around scenes of the sisters continuing their own investigation. The problem with this narrative approach is that it’s hard to fathom why it would take Baruch so long to read a two-page letter. The first time the letter is read, we cut after Baruch reads the first sentence. Are the sisters’ schedules so crazy that they can’t stick around for longer than a sentence in order to find out the details of an event they’re dying to know?
That being said, the strong performances (especially by Tagar, who brings an infectiously morbid humor to the role) and Nesher’s dedication to the story’s themes turn “Past Life” into a drama that might not be stellar, but is at least worth your time. In any case, it efficiently deals with a theme that plagues many cultures and families who must grapple with the history of descendants who have done horrible things. Does the film’s optimistic final shot propose a possibility of forgiveness and rebirth? Or will the sins of the father eventually be laid upon the children? [B]
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