Manika, the Girl Who Lived Twice

Manika, the Girl Who Lived Twice (1989) is a drama film directed by François Villiers rated 7.8/10.

In this unusual feature, Manika is a girl born in a Catholic family in a south Indian fishing village is convinced that she has recently had a former life as a Brahman wife in Nepal. Her parish priest, Father Daniel is under orders to convince her otherwise, as reincarnation does not accord with official Catholic doctrine. Instead, he agrees to journey with her to the site of her dreams of a previous life. Once there, they discover that all is just as she had dreamed it, and her former husband has remarried despite promising not to. Her arrival on the scene does not disturb the man, but it really upsets his new wife, who departs with her baby. Manika decides that it helps no one for her to remain there in Nepal, and returns to her home in the south. However, all this has caused a genuine crisis of faith for the priest who, witnessing all this, has had to grapple with some irreconcilable issues.

Cast

Julian Sands

Father Daniel Mahoney

Ayesha Dharker

Manika Kallatil

Stéphane Audran

Sister Amanda

Jean-Philippe Écoffey

Father René

Suresh Oberoi

Ranjit

Saeed Jaffrey