When I read reviews of "Past Life" that described it as "melodramatic," I wasn't sure what that meant. I'm a big sap, so sometimes, sentimentality or heavy drama don't bother me. But that isn't what the reviewers meant by "melodramatic" here. This is a story that suffers from a director not knowing where to put his focus.
The plot concerns two Israeli sisters, Sephi (Joy Rieger) Milch, an aspiring composer, and Nana Milch-Kotler (Nelly Tagar), a journalist working for a skin magazine with her husband. Together the sisters endeavor to learn what their father did during the war that caused a Berlin concertgoer to verbally attack Sephi when she was there singing.
It's an odd family - Nana seems jealous of Sephi and antagonistic toward their father, a somewhat distant man who nevertheless loves his daughters. Their mother is in the background, saying little - I am sure her role was designed that way for a reason apparent at the end of the film. But it doesn't work on that basis.
Nana's plight is what brings the film into the sphere of melodrama - not only that, but unnecessary melodrama, and pulls it away from the real story. The real story is about fear, blame, and forgiveness, and how a lack of forgiveness can eat someone alive, ruin a life, and rob it of all joy. The daughters' quest was interesting, but it took away from the story of the Zielinski family, how their lives intertwined with the Milch family, and how they may continue to intertwine.
"Past Life" is based on an actual story, and the real-life composer sister actually did write some music for this film. There is some lovely choral music and solo singing throughout.
The end of the film is emotional and really lovely. This is a movie worth seeing, and had the story been reframed, it would have been better. But that's just my opinion. I don't make movies, and I give incredible credit to anyone who does.
The plot concerns two Israeli sisters, Sephi (Joy Rieger) Milch, an aspiring composer, and Nana Milch-Kotler (Nelly Tagar), a journalist working for a skin magazine with her husband. Together the sisters endeavor to learn what their father did during the war that caused a Berlin concertgoer to verbally attack Sephi when she was there singing.
It's an odd family - Nana seems jealous of Sephi and antagonistic toward their father, a somewhat distant man who nevertheless loves his daughters. Their mother is in the background, saying little - I am sure her role was designed that way for a reason apparent at the end of the film. But it doesn't work on that basis.
Nana's plight is what brings the film into the sphere of melodrama - not only that, but unnecessary melodrama, and pulls it away from the real story. The real story is about fear, blame, and forgiveness, and how a lack of forgiveness can eat someone alive, ruin a life, and rob it of all joy. The daughters' quest was interesting, but it took away from the story of the Zielinski family, how their lives intertwined with the Milch family, and how they may continue to intertwine.
"Past Life" is based on an actual story, and the real-life composer sister actually did write some music for this film. There is some lovely choral music and solo singing throughout.
The end of the film is emotional and really lovely. This is a movie worth seeing, and had the story been reframed, it would have been better. But that's just my opinion. I don't make movies, and I give incredible credit to anyone who does.