Past Lives Review – Intimate, A Must See Romantic Drama

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Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film

Published on Wednesday, 31 January 2024 12:05

Written by Janet Walker

Past Lives, from A24, presents a story of lost love, hope, redemption as two childhood friends reunite after years apart for one week and leave wondering if the life they have chosen is destiny or convenience.

The film begins with the camera watching three people in a bar, a Korean female sits between two men, one Korean and one American, the voice over plays restaurant guessing and tries to determine the relationship between these three individuals. Is it work? Relationships? We see also, the female is actively engaged in conversation with the Korean and doesn't even look at the American. We are intrigued.

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Then the film reverts to the past, as we see two young Korean children, a boy, Hae Sung, played by Leem Seung-min, and a girl, Nora, played by Moon Seung-ah, the two are friends, in the same grade, and walk home from school together, he is her protector and she his confident. She explains to her mother that she is going to marry Hae Song. Her mother arranges an afternoon play date and the two along with their parents spend the afternoon on a play date. Then the day arrives, and Nora and her family are gone, they have left Korea for Canada. We see Hae Sung, sitting, alone in school, the emptiness is palpable.

Then the film moves to the future and Nora, played by Greta Lee, is now an adult and a playwright. She is on the phone with her mother and with the rise of social media, this childhood memory of Hae Sung, played by Teo Yoo, prompts her to search for him. And to her surprise she finds him and sends him a message.

Her motivation isn't romantic, although she does remember the major childhood crush, she had on him, and even talks about the afternoon they spent together on a chaperoned playdate so each could have warm memories of connection before her parents emigrated to Canada.

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Soon the two are on chat, facetime, and zoom as they become more invested in the possibility of a future or recapturing the past and building a future. After some time, they move toward reality and the truth of their relationship. Neither of them are financially able to bridge the distance on a regular basis, and both are still young in their careers.

Nora finally explains she has been accepted to a writer's program and it marks the first big turning point in her career, and she feels they should stop talking, at least for a while. We see her arrive at the writer's retreat.

Also at the writer's retreat is Arthur, played by John Magara, and as they are both writers living in Manhattan, with the same complaints about the city, they grow closer. Soon the film moves forward to the U.S. Customs stop as they reenter the United States from a visit to her parents and as the camera pans her passport, we see they are now married.

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Of course, while Arthur brings her everything she wanted, as she explains, including a green card, she is unable to release the idea of Hae Sung, and the idea of destiny and the possibility that he was hers, and this life, the one she built, is only second best to the future she could have had with him.

He decides to visit her in America. So now she is explaining this past life to her husband, who tells her what an amazing story it would be, two childhood sweethearts, reunite as adults and live happily ever after, and he would be the villain. They laugh as he tells his story fueled by a writer's imagination. Even through the laughter, we understand their relationship was built on elements of convenience, not certainty.

Soon Hae Sung arrives in Manhattan, and the two, now adults, and each stronger in their career take the trip down memory lane. As they walk through the streets of Manhattan, visit tourist sites, take the Circle Line Ferry around Manhattan, they fill in the lost time with the stories that bring them to the present.

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Past Lives, the debut award winning picture and Oscar nominated Best Picture, is a must see. Director Celine Song presents an intimate portrait and allows the audience to experience the cascading choices that bring our couple to this moment.

Captivating, Past Lives, a romantic drama of love, life, and choices, is a must see. See it.

Country: Korea.

Language: English, Korean with English subtitles.

Runtime: 105minutes.

Director: Celine Song.

Producer: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon.

Writer: Celine Song.

Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magara, Moon Seung-ah, Leem Seung-min, Ji Hye Yoon, Choi Won-young.