The Past Is a Foreign Country

Slow motion imagery of a female face is duplicated and superimposed over itself. One of these image tracks plays in reverse; the sound of a female voice recalling the first time that she saw her lover is played over and over again, overlapping multiple times until it becomes a wall of intense sound; and the music score is an ambient electronic drone that glides along with the visuals and the dialogue. All of these elements come together to create a film that is a meditation on memory.

Directed by Chris O’Neill, The Past Is a Foreign Country leans on a strong ensemble — Raquel Nave — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2018.