‘Past Life’ Is a Poignant Look Into Wartime Tragedy

Pricilla Kumar

“On Friday, September 1, 1939, the day WWII broke out, my real life began to end, only a few of us will survive.” So begins the heart-wrenching tale of Dr. Baruch Milch after the murder of his family. Avi Nesher’s (“Turn Left at the End of the World,” “The Matchmaker”) latest film “Past Life” unroots the secrets of the casualties of war and how it haunts generations to come. The film is a loose adaptation of Ella Milch-Sheriff and her late sister Michal Milch-Avigal’s journey of finding themselves. Milch-Sheriff also serves as both the composer and producer of the film.

The film opens up to soprano Sephi Milch (Joy Rieger) performing a solo act in her first international concert. In the crowd, an older woman watches, horrified, as she realizes who the young woman actually is. After the concert Sephi is attacked by the woman, whose own son is renowned German choral composer Thomas Zielinski (Rafael Stachowiak). Sephi is shaken to the core after the woman accuses her of being the daughter of a murderer.

After returning home to Israel, Sephi unveils to her sister Nana (Nelly Tagar), a journalist, her experience which leaves both sisters questioning their family upbringing. Particularly, their father Baruch (Doron Tavory) and his exploits in Poland during the Holocaust. After digging up their father’s past, the sisters find themselves in a deeply-rooted secret that begins to haunt them. Even after thirty years, the sisters’ gut-wrenching past continuously threatens to impact their current state of living. Nana falls deathly ill in a turn of karmic events, and Sephi finds that her singing has been vastly affected; their past refuses to stay buried.

Nesher’s ability to unfold the misfortunes of war through this poignant journey is both heartbreaking and unprecedented. The film has a strong opening and powerful ending; however, there are incidents in the middle where the plot begins to falter. Strong tension build-ups are key in this film, which at times fails to deliver emotionally. Although the film is very dark, Nesher has filled in various plot holes with humor-laced incidents that bring a sense of comic relief. The film is based on the diary entries of Dr. Baruch Milch; conversely, Nesher also draws inspiration from his own life. Nesher is the son of Holocaust survivors and “Past Life” is a contrasting piece that works well with individualized experience.  

“Past Life” opens in theaters June 2.