I watched Past Lives recently and it left me in awe.
The heartfelt beauty, the warmth, the slowness of life, the innocence of childhood, the meticulous details, the unspoken feelings that go beyond time.
Past Lives follows these 2 characters: Nae Young (now Nora Moon) and her childhood best friend Hae Sung, for over 24 years. They were close friends when they were 12 in Korea, then Nora immigrated to Canada, they met again online when they were 24, had a long-distance relationship but then decided to stop talking to each other, and they were reunited again in NY when they were 36. Nora is married to Arthur and Hae Sung just ended a relationship with her then-girlfriend.
It is a beautiful movie, about life in general and I love basic mundane stories about life. You can feel the heaviness of this past that they clung to. It's a story about love but without the fireworks and the fairy tale. It is bittersweet and real. I love the depiction of mature adult relationships between Hae Sung - Nora - Arthur.
Kudos to Celine Song, for her first directorial debut film.
*with spoiler moving forward*
- From other people's articles that summed up the message of the movie:
The film's message is that fate doesn't gift a fairytale relationship to everyone and that distance and circumstances change everything in a relationship. They realize that their relationship isn't meant to be even though they believe in the idea of in-yeon or destiny.
- Even though they are strongly attracted to each other, they both want different lives and have different goals, she chooses reality instead of a dream even though it is painful for her. They have changed and they are not the same person anymore. They clung to an idea of each other, the one left in the past, they were looking to rekindle the innocence of first love. But finally, Nora chooses Arthur, the one she had built her life with in NY, she chooses the present time.
- I mean, the options are either Nora to move to Korea or Hae Sung to move to NY, both clearly are not what they want, and they would hate themselves if they sacrifice their lives for the other. It is the most rational thing to do, this 'adulting' kan. In a fairy tale fiction, they would probably be together without the film showing the messes that they will create along the way because of their decision.
- I love this line: "You had to leave because you're you, and the reason I liked you is because you're you, and who you are is someone who leaves."
- I love the composition, it is visually beautiful, the script is excellent, and the characters' chemistry is undeniable. Love it I love it!
Beautiful Films/Series lately :
- Past Lives (2023) - Celine Song
- Scenes from a Marriage (2021) - Hagai Levi
- Close (2022) - Lukas Dhont
- Columbus (2017) - Kogonada
- After Yang (2021) - Kogonada
- Aftersun (2022) - Charlotte Wells
- Normal People (2020)
- First Love (2022) - Yuri Kanchiku
- Minari (2020) - Lee Isaac Chung
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