“Beauty is found in the quiet and contemplative moments”

Written and directed by Celine Song in her feature directorial debut, Past Lives focuses on two childhood friends, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), and how their lives intersect over the years. Nora moves from South Korea to the United States with her family, and the two lose touch for many years but reconnect online, discovering that their deep connection is still there. As time goes on, they fall out of each other’s lives yet again. Now a playwright married to Arthur (John Magaro), Nora is content with how her life has turned out— until Hae Sung shows up in New York, forcing them to finally confront their feelings over love and loss.

Having New York City as a backdrop is something that’s been done a thousand times before, but the way sound design is utilized here makes it feel authentic and immersive rather than an artificial attempt to recreate what it’s like to be there. Although some locations are easily recognizable, Shabier Kirchner’s masterful cinematography captures this world in such a way that it sheds a new light on these places. All of this comes together when Nora and Hae Sung visit Jane’s Carousel. There’s a sense of awe, a childlike wonder that allows reality to be suspended for just a few minutes, while the characters consider the missed opportunities and infinite possibilities in their lives. Beauty is found in the quiet and contemplative moments, and even when reality comes creeping back in, it doesn’t take away from the world that they forged there. For a city so vast, there’s an intimacy to these scenes that captures what it’s like to care for another so deeply that everything else fades into the background. Nora and Hae Sung are two people who weave in and out of each other’s lives for brief moments in time that may seem insignificant, but mean everything.

The idea of destiny is brought up throughout the film, culminating in a scene where Nora, Hae Sung, and Arthur sit at a bar after spending the evening together. Their conversation begins with Nora translating Korean and English between Hae Sung and Arthur, but eventually turns into a conversation completely in Korean, where Nora and Hae Sung return to the familiarity of each other, of their home, without consciously doing so. While Hae Sung and Arthur have this barrier between them—not just language or culture, but also their mutual connection to Nora—the two still reach out to one another in an attempt to connect for her sake. The scene is brilliantly executed and a testament to Song’s impressive writing and directing abilities. The importance of connection through language and culture plays an important part in this film, positing that while connections aren’t limited by such things, sometimes there’s a greater force out there. 

These characters feel lived in, from the clothes to the dialogue—and of course, the massive talents that are Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro. Their hopes, their dreams, and their fears, are all penned so carefully that it makes their interactions with one another almost painfully real. A perfect reflection of what it’s like to be human, Past Lives holds a mirror up to the audience and forces them to reckon with what they see inside themselves.

Director: Celine Song

Writer: Celine Song

Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro

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