PAST LIFE

Israel, 2017, 109 minutes, Colour.
Nelly Tagar, Joy Rieger, Doron Tavory, Evgenia Dodina, Tom Avni, Raphael Stachowiak.
Directed by Avi Nesher.

Past Life is a very involving drama. It is set in Germany as well as in Israel.

A striking dilemma is raised at the beginning of the film, a concert hall in Berlin, a woman accusing the father of the young singer of collaborating with the Nazis, the effect on her, her return to Israel, challenging her family.

The film is set in 1977 with flashbacks to the war period and the sheltering of Jews during the war, especially in Poland and in Germany.

The film is also musical, with quite a range of music throughout the film, choral as well as performed.

The audience is tantalised by the premise of the film, the possible exposure of the father, the role of the mother, the effect on the two daughters, secrets and lies.

However, the solution is more complicated than might have been anticipated and throws a different light on the behaviour of many people during the war, but also shows the empathy for people who sheltered Jewish refugees.

1. An Israeli story? Poland? Germany? A perspective from 2016, back to 1977, back to the 1940s?

2. The title, Baruch and his past, behaviour? Considering it Hell and suffering? Issues of truth, secrets?

3. The settings of 1977, the look, styles, movie references?

4. The range of music, original music, use of the classics, Gilbert and Sullivan, chorale work, orchestra?

5. Berlin and its concert hall? Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, homes, magazine office, the doctor’s office, hospital? The music academy? Poland, Warsaw and clubs, concerts, Katowice and the archives, the visit to Warsaw archives? Berlin and the final concert?

6. The concert, the Zielinskis present, Thomas’s musical talent and reputation? Choir, Sephi singing the song, the reaction of Thomas’s mother, cocktail party, the girls and the flirting, the severity of Thomas’s mother, her outburst? Thomas, taking his mother away, the reaction of the Conductor? The later sending of the postcard apology? His visit to Jerusalem and the reasons?

7. The atmosphere in Jerusalem, the doctor and his surgery, the Arab woman and pregnant, using the pill on religious grounds? Do not ability her? His work as a gynaecologist? At home, his severity, the meal, the conversation, Nana and Baruch, supporting land for the Arabs, calling on the Jewish experience of the Holocaust? The television, Sadat in Egypt, suspicions? Baruch and his stances? Nana and Yirmi, Sephi, the mother, tensions? A wealthy family, servants, working on the Sabbath, the challenge of exploitation?

8. The characters, strict father, the flashbacks to his harshness with Nana? Audience suspicions of him? Thomas’s mother calling out that he was a murderer? The character of the mother, standing by, concerned about exposure, society and wealth?

9. Sephi, young, talented in music, at the Academy, singing, composing? With her parents? The encounter in Berlin, disbelieving? Talking with Nana? With Yirmi? Nana and her wanting investigations, Sephi’s reluctance?

10. Nana, age, peeing on her sister when young, rebellious, stand on the Arabs, the discussion about pornography, the magazine and liberation, the photo shoot, staff, the secretary and her role?

11. The investigation, the women going to see the dance instructor, the past, information, the suspicions, the visit to the associate of their father, the story of the baby and its death? His anger? Sephi, getting out of the car and walking?

12. And his wife, the years, the challenge? His never having spoken about the past to his daughters? The diary, his history, checking it in the end of the war,? His writing it again and reading it to his daughters, the spacing at the chapters, the flashbacks to the cellar room? His first marriage,, wife and child killed during the war? His friend, his son? The Zielinskis allowing them to hide in the cellar, their two daughters? The Germans coming, the baby crying, the agreement the baby should be kept quiet, smothered to death? The Russian occupation? Zielinski giving Baruch his name and his brother’s papers? Going to the hospital, Yuliya following, her sister present, living as husband and wife, the pregnancy, the issue of abortion? The news of the state of Israel? Meeting his new wife, love? Yuliya’s death, her sister’s resentment and anger for the decades?

13. Thomas going to Jerusalem, the masterclasses, with the conductor? Sephi, the talk, the explanations of the past, his encouragement of the compositions? The rehearsals, his organising the Visa to go to Warsaw concert?

14. Warsaw, the conditions, the hotel, slow service with the telegrams, the underground bar, the music, drinking and dancing? Sephi’s concern about Nana? Her illness? The saying the diary was in Katowice, Thomas and Sephi going, the search, no record of the diary? The phone call, the father saying his name was Zielinski, the search in the Jewish archives, anxiety, deadlines for the concert, finding the document, the phone call, encouraging Nana to get healthy again?

15. Nana, attitudes, her pain, the tense relationship with her husband, and her father,, the publishing, accusing him of flirting with Sephi? Going to the doctor, the diagnosis, drinking, the tumour? Her husband going to the hospital? The treatment, Sephi present? The desperation of the reasons? The phone calls?

16. Thomas, character, music, not knowing his father, his mother, the outburst had the concert, attracted to Sephi, his story, helping her?

17. The return home? The correspondence, Sephi composing, using her father’s text? Sending it to Thomas, his submitting it to the Berlin competition, the conductor and his anger, Sephi no longer accepted at the Academy?

18. The story of Baruch and Yuliya, Thomas talking about the death, the visits to the cemetery?

19. The irony that the deep secret was not the death of the smothered child but of the death of Yuliya?

20. Baruch and willing to go to Berlin, his relenting and going with his wife?

21. The invitation to Berlin and the concert of Sephi’s composition, Thomas trying to persuade his mother to go to the concert, to see the family? The sisters arriving at the door, the refusal to stay with them? In the park, the encounter with Baruch and his wife? Thomas and his appeal to his mother as Catholic to think of the Gospels and forgiveness?

22. The concert, the success, the mother with photo album, turning on the television, weeping, possibilities for forgiveness and reconciliation?