"Past Lives" -- Movie Review

 

This week at Lincoln Center, I attended an advance screening of the romantic drama "Past Lives".

Synopsis

When a pair of friends geographically separated from each other meet again after 20 years, will it be possible for them to rekindle their romance from long ago?

Story

Early in the 21st century in Seoul, South Korea, adolescents and classmates Nora and Hae Sung were the very best of friends – until at least one fateful day when Nora announced that she and her family were emigrating to The United States.  Hae Sung was blindsided by this news; he didn’t find out until Nora told others – he figured that since they were such close friends, she would have at least given her best friend some kind of advance warning.  Weeks later, Nora and her family arrive in New York City and try to settle in as best they can, especially given their limited English.  Despite many obstacles, Nora not only assimilates but excels. 

Remaining in Korea to study Engineering, Hae Sung performs his obligatory military service but at no point does he ever stop thinking about Nora.  He socializes with his male friends but is deeply aware of the fact that there remains a void in his life.  Twelve years after Nora (Greta Lee) started living in New York City, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) tries to reach out to her on social media.  Eventually, they connect and despite the substantial time difference, wind up engaging in video calls over the internet where Nora reveals that she is currently pursuing a writing career.  After speaking nearly every night for a substantial period of time, Nora tries to get Hae Sung to visit her in New York; due to his studies, he feels it would be difficult to do so any time soon, so they stop their regular video calls.

Nora attends a writers’ retreat in Montauk, Long Island.  While there, she meets Arthur (John Magaro), a fellow writer.  Both hit it off with each other rather quickly and at the end of their stay, continue dating and eventually marry.  After some years of being married – now, twenty years since Nora arrived in New York City -- Hae Sung finally reaches out to Nora again and informs her that he is going to vacation in New York.  With Arthur’s understanding, she agrees to meet with him during his visit. Will Hae Sung find that Nora still has feelings for him or will he have to come to terms that their relationship is over?   

Review

Not unlike many Koreans themselves, the movie “Past Lives” is humble, reserved and perhaps a bit melancholy as well.  If this one plays in a neighborhood theater or shows up on a streaming service to which you subscribe, it’s strongly encouraged to make the time investment in this one.  This is a special experience because even though the story is specific to people from South Korea, it is universally human in its experience of whether it is better to regret things you did as opposed to regretting things you haven’t done in life.  The film is an excellent reminder that romantic love can occasionally be elusive and for some rare. 

According to writer/director Celine Song (who introduced the screening), this movie is deeply personal and is based on actual events from her own life.  Although she has previous writing credits, this is her first directorial effort and it is a powerful one; hopefully, she’ll get a chance to do more in the future, regardless of whether or not the subsequent projects are based on her own screenplay. The down side to all of this of course is that in her debut directing work, she will have quite a bit to live up to given the fact that she has come out of the gate with a real winner here; either equaling or surpassing “Past Lives” will be difficult, but certainly not impossible.

One small criticism has to do with the screenplay.  In this story, Song has written the character of Nora appear superior the two men in her circle, rather than equal to them.  For the men, their flaws are fairly self-evident, but Nora comes across as above all of it for the most part – while it’s good that she remains stalwart throughout the majority of the movie (at least, right up until the very end), Nora (if she is in fact supposed to be a reflection of Song herself), can occasionally come across as emotionally detached; the men are much more emotional.  Perhaps it’s better to write this off as a narcissistic conceit of a first-time director shooting her own script.