Nora and Hae Sung, 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...
“What if”: a common phrase used to introduce a suggestion or proposal for past or future events and often touch on the subtle framing of self-reflection. Celine Song’s ‘Past Lives’ is both a nuanced exploration of that lost love and longing for something different and a wistful, mature poem on the universality of relationships and possibilities.
Celine Songs direction thrives on simplicity and sensitivity; very assured and with amazing restraint, she seamlessly avoids being cloying with both the script and how she keeps everything grounded through each scene. It’s a very maturing outing.
The film's score is superb with a haunting and evocative soundtrack perfectly complementing the film's emotional tone, each scene is measured in its pacing, with subtle yet clear undertones and the production design carries weight in its muted color palette, delicate design and stunning attention to detail. Props to keeping the dialogue believably spare and light-footed, never demonizing any character actions made through the course of the runtime and having every single shot of the movie be tenderly framed, warmly composited and ripe with smoothly refined editing and transitions that capture the beautiful and delicate yet haunting and towering landscapes of Seoul and New York. There are some sardonic displays of cynical humor that I didn’t catch or just didn’t get but it was pretty chuckle worthy regardless.
However, the dynamic between the two main characters, Nora and Hae Sung is the central glue holding the film together and as their relationship is vivid and tender, it demands your attention. Of course, that’s only further bolstered by the reality that every other character, alongside them, is more than what they seem to be on the page.
Now let’s be honest: this plot had every chance imaginable to go down the more conventional romantic-triangle route and stoke itself in Hallmark-esque melodrama…..but luckily, we don’t get that. It paints itself like that at first but slowly branches out into a splice-of-life with some bones of a character study between two people stuck in-between two worlds, unable to be together but unable to let each other go. Emotionally arresting as it is visually arresting, the story’s biggest strengths are in what’s left unspoken; the characters are aware they’re stuck in the template of a familiar story, only they have full control over where and what to do and go. Despite Celine’s inexperience, she envelopes and awes in crafting a healthy, respectable dynamic between the bridges of multiethnic cultures and relationships in a realistic enough way.
Also, the Korean concept of InYeon plays a significant role in how these emotions shape the story; since InYeon ties back to Buddhism and the cycle of reincarnation, that key of entanglement is vital to the other big strength of the movie: how clear our perception of time and love changes as we grow up. Showing the characters getting older every few decades, as well as being careful with the examination of the immigrant experience, makes way for an honest discussion that proves the adage “With age comes experience” right while helping bring truths to reality and showcasing the importance of cherishing what once was and moving on.
Some people might be bored with the reality of this being a more quieter story without much conflict and that’s fine. But to anyone who wondered about their past choices and how things might be different in another lifetime…..it’s an interesting prospect to consider.
The films issues are few and far between but if I had to pinpoint ONE…..I wouldn’t have minded if it had been a few minutes longer. It might’ve not been a favorable call for a movie like this with not a whole lot going on but I believe Celine’s script and directing could’ve squeezed out a tiny bit more to make it still work at 2 hours.
Fortunately, the films pretty damn great regardless and Celine Song’s directorial debut is a ravaging success that people do have the right to rave over.
