Past Lives (2023) | Dir. Celine Song
Teo Yoo, Greta Lee | Credit: Courtesy of A24
Written by: Belle McIntyre
This sweetly melancholy tale of rumination over “what could have been” is an exercise which demands that the ruminant detach themselves from the present reality and and re-invent his actions, his personhood, motivation, and an imaginary and idealized vision of his new reality. The story involves Na Young (Greta Lee), a twelve year schoolgirl, and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), her twelve-year old boyfriend, schoolmate and best friend.
Seung Ah Moon, Seung Min Yim | Credit: Jin Young Kim
When Na Young’s parents decide to emigrate to Canada, the kids, who have been kept in the dark, were rather abruptly informed and experienced wrenching sense of loss which they must simply push past. In so doing, they lose all touch with each other for the next 20 years. Until they reconnect online and establish something which looks a lot like flirting. They share memories as well as what’s going on with each other. For Nora, it reconnects her to her Koreanness. Then that “Wonder what might have happened if……?” syndrome kicks in. Also Korean Buddhism embraces the concept of destiny between two people.
Greta Lee | Credit: Courtesy of A24
Finally, Hae Sung makes the decision to go visit her in New York City, where she is married, and is a successful playwrite and author, and totally westernized. She goes by Nora. Still she welcomes him to stay in their apartment. Their first meeting is so unutterably sweet. They say almost nothing. You can see they are reconnecting to something elemental, in their minds since the gap is so wide. Especially, lovely are the two of them touring NYC.
Teo Yoo, Greta Lee | Credit: Jon Pack
The fact that Hae Sung only speaks Korean makes including Nora’s husband Arthur, whom she met at a writers conference, a bit awkward. In fact there is an early opening scene which opens in a bar with Nora sitting between Arthur and Hae Sung, having to divide her attention between both of her men. The voice over coming from three unseen people facing our three and speculating about their connections with one another are fanciful and amusing. I suppose that is what this film is about. It is about our connection to our identity in opposition to culture.
John Magaro, Greta Lee | Credit: Jon Pack
In typical Korean fashion, the roles are played as naturalistically as possible, fewer words; with communicating as much through scenes of extended gazing and long shots rather than dramatic emotive facial techniques. One shot of Hae Sung standing on the sidewalk with his suitcase looking terribly awkward speaks multitudes about how out of place he is. When he leaves the two of them stand facing each other on the sidewalk and wordlessly stare at each other while they wait for the Uber to take him to the airport. It is a lovely film which questions many philosophical and metaphysical beliefs. It is intelligent enough to not try to answer them.
