Past Lives

Director: Celine Song

9 September 2023

See

Him: Na Young (Greta Lee) and Hue Sung (Teo Yoo) were childhood sweethearts in South Korea. But she emigrated to Canada with her family and their lives went in different directions. They Reconnected through social media, skype and email in their twenties, but couldn’t meet up. Now in their mid to late thirties Nora, who changed her name and moved to New York, is married to another writer, Arthur. Hae Sung is an engineer who lived in Chia and i fresh from a break up. They decided to meet up in New York. 

Her:  Past lives, 2023, directed by Celine Song. Growing up in South Korea, Na and Hae were  best friends, up until the moment Na’s family immigrated to Canada when she was 11. 10 years later, Na, now living in New York and known as Nora, decides to reconnect with Hae (still living in South Korea) via social networks. They quickly realise that a long distance relationship isn’t viable and lose each other again. When Hae finally decides to visit Nora in New York, she’s already married, somewhat happily, while Hae is going through a recent separation. They spend a week together, reminiscing about the past and ‘what ifs’ like Nora’s family didn’t leave Korea.

Think

Him: The Korean concept of in-yeon is explored as a plot point, meaning destiny, and evoking buddhist reincarnation in the films title. I love a metaphor that when explained feels like it opens up a new world of understanding. But it’s possible that I’m coveting in-yeon because it’s a new take with an eastern perspective on Jesse and Celine’s story in Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset. ‘Will they, won’t they’ doesn’t sustain the narrative for the duration of the film. As Arthur (John Magaro) says, their story is remarkable and rare. But it’s ultimately just that, a story for Arthur or Nora to write. They’re too cynical and sensible to change their lives. Nora already did. Twice. Is Hae Sung looked down upon because he would? I admire his restraint. It’s subdued and sweet in its resignation.

Her: Not my kind of story. Beautifully filmed and with A24 signature production style but I simply couldn’t connect with the characters. Arthur, Nora’s husband, was the most interesting one in my opinion.

Feel

Him: To quote Jesse in Before Sunset, “Yes, there once was a girl, who got off a train in Vienna with a boy. But to say whether they met there again, 6 months later like they planned depends if you’re a cynic or a romantic. To say would take the piss out of the whole thing, as my grandfather would say.’

In a way the Before Trilogy answers any unanswered question left open to interpretation in Past Lives. What if they stayed in the same country? What if they stayed in the same country? If only they met up when they were both single. What would their next iteration look like? This film is ultimately about the longing you feel watching them saying goodbye. Hae asked Na as a child why she was moving and she said Koreans don’t win the Nobel prize for literature. Na grew into Nora, who as a young adult wanted to win the Pulitzer Prize. Now she said she doesn’t think that way. But with Nora as the author surrogate for the writer/director Celine Song, she’s told her best story yet.

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