The afterlife can be quite lonely. In Polen Ly’s “Becoming Human” (2025), Thida, the resident spirit guardian of an abandoned movie theatre, watches the world move on around her after her death over 50 years ago. She spends her days wandering the grounds, people-watching from her perch in the balconies, and eating the occasional offerings left at her mostly forgotten shrine. She often reminisces about the old movies that would play here during the cinema’s heyday. Despite the somber mundanity, she’s decided to not be reincarnated. After all, if the world is full of suffering, what would be the point?
One day, Thida reveals herself to Hai, a journalist who stumbles into the theatre in search of a story. Their chance encounter embarks them on a journey about the nature of human existence, remembering the past, and contending with the uncertainties about the future in a changing Cambodia. Despite being a generation apart in life and death, the two unexpected friends realize they have much in common — Thida lost her home while Hai never had one.
“Becoming Human” is a film that lingers on the past and its spiritual imprints left on our being. Thida’s time to make a decision is soon coming. Will she finally choose rebirth and move on from her past life? Or will she continue to live on as a wandering spirit, unable to leave the boundaries of her stewardship?
The premise is quietly original. It takes a naturalistic approach to showing two characters dealing with past grief. Woven through the grounded tone are subtle folk supernatural elements that never overwhelm the realism. It’s a delicate balancing act, and Ly pulls it off with sincerity and restraint, using small metaphysical touches to illuminate the internal feelings and conflict of Thida and Hai. Thematically, the film is rich: it asks what it truly means to become human again in a world that often strips that very humanity away.
While the film’s overall tone is quite somber and serious, it also isn’t afraid to use moments of witty humor to cut through the melancholy and show that pensive ghosts were still at their core human beings.
Where the film stumbles is in its rhythm. The deliberate slowness is clearly intentional, but the pacing often meanders. It also asks viewers to leave certain questions open and to meditate on our lives just like Thida and Hai do. Overall, some sequences need more room to breathe, while others feel a tad protracted, creating an uneven flow that dilutes the emotional impact.
Still, there’s something quietly beautiful. “Becoming Human” offers a thoughtful, soulful experience that asks us to consider what it means to hold onto or let go of the past.
Becoming Human is playing at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 13th and 14th
