How well do you really know yourself? Perhaps you have become well-acquainted with the person you are now, but what about the person you may have been before? Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, you cannot deny it is an intriguing concept, and Hollywood certainly seems to agree based on how many movies about past lives there are. The following are some of our favorites that you can watch right now on streaming or as a digital rental or purchase.
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Warren Beatty stars in this Oscar-winning, romantic fantasy dramedy as a professional football player who is accidentally taken into the afterlife too early and given the chance to return to Earth in the body of a recently murdered millionaire. Also helmed by Beatty and Buck Henry, Heaven Can Wait is actually the second adaptation of Harry Segall’s 1938 stage play, and it would also serve as the basis of Chris Rock’s 2001 comedy, Down to Earth.
Stream Heaven Can Wait on Paramount+.
Rent or buy Heaven Can Wait on Amazon.
Made In Heaven (1987)
As the title suggests, this romantic fantasy dramedy from director Alan Rudolph brings literal meaning to the phrase “a match made in heaven,” in reference to a drowned young man (Timothy Dutton) who finds love with an unborn soul (original Top Gun star Kelly McGillis). However, when she is sent to Earth for the first time, he desperately searches for a way to reunite with her in his next life.
Rent or buy Made In Heaven on Amazon.
Chances Are (1989)
Reincarnation has been suggested as a potential explanation for deja vu, which is reflected in the experience of Robert Downey Jr.’s character in the charming comedy, Chances Are. The future Marvel actor plays a recent college graduate who begins to realize the young woman who has fallen for him (Mary Stuart Masterson) is the daughter of his past self after meeting her mother (Cybill Shepherd), whom he remembers was once his former wife.
Rent or buy Chances Are on Amazon.
Dead Again (1991)
The strange familiarity that could come with reincarnation might also act as a warning, which is how Emma Thompson’s character feels in the star-studded Neo-noir thriller from director Kenneth Branagh, Dead Again. Branagh also stars as a private eye helping Thompson’s amnesiac figure out her identity, but when evidence suggests their respective past lives were in an ill-fated relationship from the 1940s, she begins to fear him.
Stream Dead Again on Amazon Prime.
Stream Dead Again on Paramount+.
Defending Your Life (1991)
Writer and director Albert Brooks reimagined the concept of reincarnation as a right that a soul must earn in this unique, fantastic take on the courtroom movie genre. A much-overlooked ’90s movie gem, Defending Your Life also stars Brooks as a recently deceased man whose past lives are currently under evaluation, but his chances to return to Earth are threatened when he falls in love with Julia (Meryl Streep).
Rent or buy Defending Your Life on Amazon.
Fluke (1995)
For some, reincarnation could be seen as a second chance, which is what Matthew Modine’s character is given in the heartwarming family drama, Fluke, but it's in a very unexpected way. The Stranger Things cast member plays a workaholic who passes away in a car crash, but is reborn as a dog who becomes the new house pet for his wife (Nancy Travis) and son (Brian Johnson).
Stream Fluke on Tubi.
Rent or buy Fluke on Amazon.
Birth (2004)
They say that love is eternal, but what if you discovered that phrase had a more literal meaning and that your deceased partner was trying to reach you from beyond the grave and through a new body? Nicole Kidman’s Anna becomes convinced that is happening when a 10-year-old boy (Cameron Bright) claims to be her late husband Sean in Birth — a beautifully shot and often disturbing drama from co-writer and director Jonathan Glazer.
Reincarnation (2006)
In this mind-bending, terrifying thriller, a young actor (Yûka) is cast in a film based on a brutal mass murder from years earlier, which seems to trigger bizarre and horrifying visions and leads her to question if these hallucinations are memories. As part of 2006’s annual After Dark Horror Fest, Reincarnation is another unsettling descent into madness from Japanese horror movie master, Takashi Shimizu.
Rent or buy Reincarnation on Amazon.
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Author David Mitchell took the concept of reincarnation into a very complex and symbolic direction with his 2004 novel Cloud Atlas, which is essentially a collection of stories that each take place in a different time period and are told from multiple perspectives, but each set of characters are bound by the same soul. Lana and Lilly Wachowski (the creators of the Matrix movies) teamed with Tom Tykwer to write and direct a visually stunning adaptation of the book featuring a star-studded cast including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, and more in (technically) multiple roles.
Rent or buy Cloud Atlas on Amazon.
I Origins (2014)
Of course, there is no scientific proof that can allow us to say with any certainty that reincarnation exists, but what if a person who has devoted their life to science suddenly found the evidence they never thought they would? Such is the story of writer and director Mike Cahill’s I Origins — also one of Steven Yeun’s best movies — which stars Michael Pitt as a biologist whose relationship with a beautiful woman (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) and unbelievable discovery by him and his lab partner (Brit Marling) changes his life forever.
Stream I Origins on Max.
Rent or buy I Origins on Amazon.
Becoming Who I Was (2016)
Proof of reincarnation could potentially be found in this award-winning documentary from directors Moon Chang-Yong and Jeon Jin. Becoming Who I Was follows a young Buddhist boy’s journey, with the help of his supportive grandfather, to reclaim his past life as a monk who lived in Tibet centuries earlier.
Rent or buy Becoming Who I Was on Amazon.
A Dog's Purpose (2017)
Even though director Lasse Hallström’s A Dog’s Purpose is told over the course of several decades, it is, at its core, the story of one loving canine and his relationship with the human who found him (played by Dennis Quaid). This adaptation of W. Bruce Cameron’s novel is told from the point of view of a dog (voiced by Josh Gad, who referenced the role in Strays) whose soul is repeatedly reborn in the body of a new furry friend.
Rent or buy A Dog's Purpose on Amazon.
Infinite (2021)
Director Antoine Fuqua re-teamed with his Shooter star, Mark Wahlberg, for this high-concept sci-fi thriller based on the novel, The Reincarnationist Papers, by D. Eric Maikranz. Also starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson, and Jason Mantzoukas, Infinite is about a man who discovers that the hallucinations that have plagued him his entire life are actually memories of his previous lives.
Rent or buy Infinite on Amazon.
Death merely being the end of one life before crossing over into a new one is actually a pretty comforting idea, regardless if it is true or not. At least we have these movies about past lives to explore the concept with.
