“Past Lives”: A Tale About What Could Have Been
Celine Song’s directorial debut had a prominent place in the award season this year.
Summary
Nora and Hae Sung, two childhood friends, are separated after Nora’s family immigrates to America. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York, when Hae Sung makes a short visit. This will be a moment to remember old times and reflect on the choices they’ve made in life.
Everyone Loves Real Stories
In Past Lives, director Celine Song brings us a semi-autobiographical project inspired by events of her own life. I’m afraid I got to this film late, but I didn’t have the chance to watch it during the award season, when it was more popular.
If I had to give only one reason that makes this film interesting, I would say that it appeals to that curiosity we all have about other people’s lives. I find that these days, with everyone so connected to social media, it is not uncommon for us to spend a lot of time watching other people online. I’m not talking about big content creators who have a life of luxury, but about the average person who randomly decides to share their day with a bunch of strangers. I’m not a big social media user, but yesterday I spent twenty minutes going through YouTube shorts to see the house renovation of a person I don’t know and hear about her college experience. Why? I don’t know; I got curious.
It should be common knowledge that most of what we see on social media is not real, but out of late, I see a tendency to praise content that looks more authentic and sincere. Which may be a good thing.
Why am I saying all this? Because Past Lives may be the translation of that tendency into the film business, something I’ve been looking forward to. Especially if we take into consideration how bad these past years have been for romance in stories.
Connection Through the Years
Past Lives takes you on a journey that feels very personal, like the director was putting a lot of herself in the story. All the instances of the protagonists’ relationship, from their childhood to their communication as adults, are endearing. And it is strange because we don’t know a lot about these characters.
Greta Lee and Teo Yoo’s portrayals of Nora and Hae Sung, respectively, are impeccable. The way they interact in every scene they share, even when they are not speaking, is wonderful. Just the way they look at each other transmits that bond that keeps uniting them.
The scene when they reunite after all those years is emotional, even though it is simple, because it feels very genuine. It looks real, it makes you feel things, and that’s the charm.
Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen’s soundtrack is subtle but quite beautiful, making it a great fit for this story.
What It Is and What Could Have Been
During the few days that Hae Sung spends in New York, the childhood friends not only remember the old days, but also have conversations about what could have been. What if Nora hadn’t left Korea? What if they had remained in touch for longer? What if they had had the chance to visit each other before Nora got married? Questions that had been on both their minds for years. Hae Sung verbalizes it by wondering what they were to each other in their past lives, or what they will be in their future ones, implying he thinks their connection is deep. Even if they are not destined to be together in the present.
I did end up confused about Nora’s relationship with her husband, Arthur. In all their scenes together, it gives the impression that the man is hopelessly in love with his wife, but she doesn’t feel the same way about him. And that he is aware of that.
In fact, when Nora and Hae Sung had their conversation at the bar, with the poor husband right next to them, not understanding Korean, it made me feel really uncomfortable and sad for him. It was not clear to me if that was the director’s intention, but she made Arthur feel like an obstacle to her happiness.
Finding Closure and Peace
The ending could be considered sad to those expecting the second-chance-at-love trope, usual in romantic movies, but it is loyal to what the story presented from the beginning: something realistic. Because the truth is, in the real world, people can’t afford to keep living in the past. As hard as it can be to accept, the decisions we made were the ones that were meant to be made at the time. And that, I believe, is something that speaks to all of us on some level, and it’s the reason the film leaves such a bittersweet taste.
Even if looking back, I wouldn’t say this was my favorite of the award season, Past Lives is a film that will live in my memory. Watching it was like eating a home-made meal after months on a fast-food diet. And seeing the state of the entertainment industry these days, it is one of the highest compliments I can give.
I recommend it.
