PAST LIVES REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

Described as an “adaption” of writer/director Celine Song’s life, Past Lives is a meaningful character driven drama that effectively explores the bond between two individuals who are separated as children when Nora moves to New York with her family. However, Nora and Hae Sung are reunited as young adults when they begin communicating through video calls. They clearly have a strong connection as they spend most of their free time talking, despite the time difference. Eventually, Nora tells Hae Sung they should stop talking for a while, as she wants to focus on her writing and her life in New York. The two do not resume their video calls. It isn’t until over a decade later that Nora and Hae Sung finally reunite in person when the latter travels to New York on vacation. Unfortunately, there’s no possibility of a romantic relationship as Nora is married to Arthur (John Magaro). Despite this, there is still a special connection between Nora and Hae Sung, with most of the film’s 106 minute runtime following them as they go sightseeing in New York which includes a ferry trip to see the Statue of Liberty. Obvious comparisons have been made to Richard Linklater’s romantic film, Before Sunrise, which was released in 1995 and starred Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as two strangers who meet on a train and spend the day together. What makes Past Lives stand out from Before Sunrise is that Song’s script explores the idea of in-yeon, which argues that when a person encounters another person and has even a brief interaction, it means they have met in a past life. It’s hard to specifically describe the relationship between Nora and Hae Sung as they aren’t exes as they met as children. They’re not friends as friends aren’t as estranged as Nora and Hae Sung are. They aren’t strangers and can’t be described simply as acquaintances because what they feel for each other is much deeper. It’s easy to understand all of the praise Celine Song has received since Past Lives premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, with 98% of over two hundred critics giving it a positive reception. This is especially impressive considering how divisive most films are.

Aside from Celine Song’s skilful filmmaking, the most impressive aspect of Past Lives are the two central performances delivered by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo. They both share a natural, unforced chemistry that makes their bond all the more effective. John Magaro delivers a strong supporting performance as Nora’s husband, Arthur, who, despite speaking very little Korean, is accepting of Nora’s relationship with Hae Sung. What I liked most about Arthur was that there was no unnecessary jealous trait in his personality, he was generally happy for his wife reuniting with someone from her home. 

With Past Lives, writer/director Celine Song has created a moving character driven drama that explores the relationship between two individuals.

8/10