Past Lives: A Heartbreaking Romance

I saw Past Lives yesterday. And it made me cry while I was watching it and then I kept on crying as I walked out of the theater. So if you're looking for some catharsis this week, perhaps this is the movie for you. This post is going to be pretty spoilerific, so believe me now when I say you must watch this film, and then come back to read this after you have done so. 

Written and directed by Celine Song, this is the story of Nora/Na Young (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), who were childhood sweethearts in South Korea. They lost touch at the age of twelve when Na Young's family immigrated to Canada and she changed her name to Nora. Twelve years later, they reconnect (thanks to Facebook, of course), with Nora now living as a playwright in New York City, while Hae Sung is going to college after completing his mandatory Korean military service. They spend some time excitedly reconnecting over video chats despite the vast time difference until Nora realizes she is investing too much time in a man she will not be able to meet for a long while and abruptly calls things off. Shortly thereafter, she meets Arthur (John Magaro) at an artist's retreat.

Twelve years after that, we find Nora and Arthur are a happily married couple, living in a cramped apartment in the East Village as writers, living out their bohemian dreams. But Hae Sung, who is now a typical Korean businessman, is coming over to New York for a week's vacation, and has plans to meet up with Nora. What follows is a dreamy few days where these two childhood sweethearts reunite and contemplate what could have been. But these are also days where Nora always comes home to her husband, who frankly shares his insecurities and thoughts about whether Nora is happy and their married life is what she wanted.

This is a movie about three adults having very grown-up conversations but mostly standing around and looking at each other with very grown-up feelings that you can palpably sense through the screen. It's hard to believe this is Celine Song's directorial debut but she does a masterful job of weaving in dialogue only when it's necessary, but otherwise letting these incredible actors tell us everything we need to know through their expressions. Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner also does his part, making New York look its absolute romantic best on 35mm film and imbuing every frame with an unsurpassable beauty that will make your heart sing. And the music by Daniel Bear and Christopher Rossen is pitch perfect, never overwhelming the scenes, but offering up a sumptuous accompaniment as we go on this emotional journey. 

Past Lives is dazzling and evocative on multiple levels and is sure to get at some core truth that you keep hidden away within you. You'll need to watch the film to learn more about the Korean concept of in-yeon, about how people are destined to meet after they accumulate layers of connections across multiple past lives. As someone who immigrated to both Canada and New York in her childhood and left behind many friends and a sweetheart that she has never spoken to since (hi Keith!) it felt like a true gut punch, and an exercise in contemplating the many lives I could have lived if things had gone a different way. But ultimately those are all past lives. And reckoning with your past is the only way to forge ahead to your future.