Past Lives review: Celine Song’s debut is a subdued & confident expression of lost love

Celine Song’s Past Lives opens with an unseen couple observing three people in a bar, speculating on their connections to each other. Who are these people? How do they know each other? What does the future hold for them?

It’s this scene that sets up the entire question explored throughout Past Lives. Song weaves in the Korean concept of inyeon – a string of fate that ties people together across multiple lifetimes. It can be as serious as falling in love with someone, or simply brushing past them on the street. Even discussing and digesting Song’s directorial debut with a group of friends after the credits have rolled – this is inyeon.

For the next 100 minutes, we see these three characters during three different time periods. Beginning with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) and Na Young (Greta Lee) growing up as teenagers in Seoul. Twelve years later, Na Young has moved to New York City, and has changed her name to Nora. She marries an American writer named Arthur (John Magaro). Meanwhile, Hae Sung joins the military and then moves to China as part of a language exchange program.

And finally another 12 years on, we see Nora and Hae Sung finally meet again in person, which becomes the focal point for the rest of the film. Similar to the couple in the opening scene, we are watching these characters at a distance, asking ourselves “who are they to each other?” just as Nora and Hae Sung also wonder. Life is full of “what-ifs” and for these two, there’s a cloud looming over their head. 

Authentic dialogue & realistic portrayals

Past Lives’ script, also developed by Song, certainly feels reminiscent of Linklater’s Before trilogy as well as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (interestingly, references to both are made during the film). The dialogue is naturalistic in its presentation, and Nora and Hae Sung speak like real people. There are awkward pauses. Filler sentences. Discussions of seemingly mundane topics carry a lot of weight for the characters.

For these kinds of stories, about long-lost friends or lovers meeting again after years apart, there’s an expectation for it to be a dramatic and romantic reunion. Instead, the chemistry between Hae Sung and Nora is awkward and reflective, a vibe that can be attributed to Song intentionally keeping her lead actors apart until rehearsals began. 

Because it’s not just the dialogue that carries this motif of lost love throughout Past Lives, it’s the distanced physicality between Teo Yoo and Greta Lee that hits it home. Both characters are uncomfortable, despite their familiarity with each other, with the idea that a relationship between them never worked out because of their past lives sending them in different directions. Both leads excel at telling the story while also using as very few words as possible.

It’s this subdued approach that really helps these characters play on a field of their own. Unlike other romantic dramas of our time, Past Lives doesn’t dabble in artificial conflict or exaggerated personalities. Given the situation, it would be easy to place any one of these three characters in the role of a ‘villain’ – but real life can be complicated. The story is smart enough to know that’s not how relationships work. Shabby romantic cliches aren’t even invited to the table here.

A24

Refreshing and exhilarating

Similarly, the way the story treats Arthur’s character is just as impressive. There’s no ‘evil jealous husband’ angle here, and while he does appear to have his own insecurities, he comes off as just being incredibly sincere in his love and trust for Nora. In a film that is so focused down on the inyeon between the two Korean leads, Arthur is given a layer of depth that feels so real.

It’s this realism that really sells Song’s depiction of love featured in the film. While not necessarily in the philosophical sense (though it is part of the central motif), the titular Past Lives ultimately explores Hae Sung and Nora’s relationship with fate. That bitter narrative we discuss with ourselves pondering how different our lives could have been had we made different choices. The what-ifs that shape us and make us into the people we are.

Past Lives review score: 5/5

Featuring minimal yet profound dialogue, grounded performances and a clever subversion of romantic drama cliches, Past Lives is an authentic and realistic look at the ties that bind us as humans and how these connections can shape the trajectory of our lives.

Past Lives is available to buy or rent on digital platforms, including Google Play, Prime Video and Apple TV. It also hits UK cinemas on September 8th. Check out some of our other recent movie reviews:

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