X
- 2023
- PG-13
- 1 h 45 m
- 2023
- PG-13
- 1 h 45 m
Summary Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny and love, and the choices that make a life.
Directed By: Celine Song
Written By: Celine Song
- 2023
- PG-13
- 1 h 45 m
- 2023
- PG-13
- 1 h 45 m
Past Lives
8.2
Where to Watch
Summary Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny and love, and the choices that make a life.
Directed By: Celine Song
Written By: Celine Song
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 51 Critic Reviews
94
98% Positive
50 Reviews
50 Reviews
2% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 51 Critic Reviews
94
98% Positive
50 Reviews
50 Reviews
2% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
It’s not all wide-eyed insight and romantic misery though. Past Lives is also very, very funny.
It’s a film full of quiet magic; of the power of words not spoken, and the enduring strength of love.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 124 User Ratings
8.2
83% Positive
103 Ratings
103 Ratings
13% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
4% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 124 User Ratings
8.2
83% Positive
103 Ratings
103 Ratings
13% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
4% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
NO QUIERO CONOCER OTROS IN-YEONS, ACABO ROTO EMOCIONALMENTE
No tengo días malos, tampoco buenos, más bien vacíos, de interrogantes inmortales, de malestares, por no saber mi destino, tampoco quiero saberlo. Saberlo podría ser peor. Odio la vívidez, también la oscuridad, pero no le veo el sentido a un gris. Elijo caminos correctos. Otros erróneos. Ninguno me hace feliz, porque jamás sabré del que no escogí. No sé si tengo otras vidas, con diferentes sucesos. Me duele no saberlo, también saberlo. Pasan tantas personas alrededor mía que odio no poder darles mi existencia, pero a veces deseo vivir en una cueva. Todo es confuso, doloroso, agonizante, lagrimoso, alegre pero melancólico, y sobre todo, inevitable y obsesivo compulsivo. Luego todo resulta ser nostálgico y desgarrador.Eran amigos de la infancia, iban al cole, se empezaron a gustar. Y sus mamis los llevaron a un parquecito para que tuvieran su “cita”. Pero, pocos días después, Nora se mudaría. No sabrían nada el uno del otro durante largos años. Un poco más de una década después se reencuentran virtualmente, en plan broma según ella, él seriamente. Vuelven a dejar de hablar porqué están enamorados el uno del otro por 7 años. Nora se casa, Hae Sung se separa. Y por fin, va a Nueva York para visitarla y conoce al marido. Ahora ocurre todo. Llevad pañuelos, bueno yo los necesito desde el principio.Lloraba mucho de pequeña, de joven también lo haría y cuando se mudó a Nueva York dejó de hacerlo porque según ella ya no era rentable viviendo dónde vivía. Hae Sung, sin embargo, no lloraría mucho, nada creo, pero sí la echaba de menos, tanto que la buscaba desesperadamente en facebook. Adentrándonos en la historia, Nora solo le envió a Hae Sung un e-mail cuando después de 20 años regresa por un viajecito a Corea, su país, el de Hae Sung también, no hubo respuesta de él. No digo que ella sea la mala, pero tenemos muchos rincones para cavar sobre sus definitivas verdades, las cuáles nunca sabremos, aún así la historia sigue siendo preciosa. El marido, ese gran pilar entre los dos coreanos en realidad. Me ocurren emociones inesperadas por él, puedo entenderle, aunque estoy harto de verle llorar por dentro mientras yo lo hago por fuera. No entiende casi el coreano, y por eso no puede saber lo que ella sueña, porque siempre sueña hablando en Coreano. Creo que apenas la conoce, y no es por culpa de él. Pero sabe que ella de verdad lo quiere. Celine Song debuta creando una historia no exageradamente compleja pero desgarradora, la cual me va a costar superar emocionalmente, cualificada para los Oscars. Contando una historia de amor de dos coreanos, junto al marido de ella. Tres personajes que siento dentro de mí. Que me acompañarán, pero sobre todo, en mis momentos más oscuros. No puede faltar nada, y por eso su guión y fotografía son muy memorables. Lanza, en todos los sentidos, demasiada debilidad, melancolía, tristeza, nostalgia, y un amor que pudo ser y no fue. Celine Song me trae esta obra maestra en una época que quiero y a la vez no quiero conocer ni ver. Pero como digo, el vicio es malo y bueno, y me destroza por dentro pero no puedo parar de sentir eso, porque quizá sea mi destino. Y quizá, yo llore más que Nora. Porque mientras veo Vidas Pasadas y escribo sobre ella mis lágrimas no se acaban.
-RICHIE VALERO
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The theme of love has been raised in the cinema many times. And this topic will always be relevant as long as man exists. But the question is how to show and convey excitement through the screen and what emotions you feel. I was touched by the level of drama, the fine work of the actors, the way it was shot in terms of style and color rendering (film and filters). This is a melancholic, tender, touching movie. The authors touched me to the core.
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Song has crafted a deliriously honest romantic drama that is utterly singular even while it calls to mind everything from Richard Linklater to Wong Kar-wai to David Lean’s Brief Encounter. This is a movie that flows over with patience, forgiveness, and tender wisdom — qualities all the more wondrous for their relative absence from modern society and its movies.
For all the films that have been made about love triangles, Song has fashioned hers in the form of a circle, defying so many of the clichés in her quietly devastating way.
The movie ripples with the quiet melodrama of real life, the way big things often happen in the margins, and small things gradually come to mean the world.
Does she actually love Hae Sung? The answer to that question eludes Nora, Past Lives, and the director herself, as Song’s script allows these strikingly mature and reasonable adults to work through some very difficult emotions.
There’s a disconcerting shrewdness underneath its patina of tastefulness — it’s too calculating to achieve the transcendent almost-romance it strives for but never inhabits.
It's a romantic movie that just goes down easy. Greta Lee and Teo Yoo are enchanting as long time friends, who could have been lovers had they not gone their separate ways. What I liked about this movie is that it left a lot to the viewers imagination. Wil they or won't they? A lot of feelings are left unsaid, but you can see it in the body language.
I loved the pace of the movie. It kind of reminds of the Before Sunrise trilogy in that you want to know how their live turned out.
Maybe there will be a sequel....
I hope so.
Report
A stunning spectacle about childhood love and moving on in life
Past Lives is a story of three characters–Nora (Greta Lee), Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) and Arthur (John Magaro). All of them are connected in a way somewhat familiar to the romance genre. Nora and Arthur are married, but their life drastically shakes upon the arrival of the former’s childhood sweetheart, Hae Sung. The movie is a story of love long lost, but not forgotten. Nora seems to have moved on and built a life she always dreamt of. She’s a scene writer in New York, happily married to Arthur, achieving her childhood dreams. Hae Sung lives in Seoul, being on the other end. He struggles in his personal life and career, but her spark for Nora keeps on living.
Nora and Hae Sung reconnect 12 years after she left Seoul via Skype. At first, the chemistry is unmatched, and it builds towards a cozy and warm relationship, though, none of them can see each other in person. As time goes on and expectations meet harsh reality, they are forced to break contact. The internet connection starts to falter, some calls end up not being answered, being symbols of how both start to distance themselves from each other due to life kicking in. Unable to do anything, their tough-to-label relationship remains broken, until Hae Sung visits New York 12 years later. After his arrival, the two reconnect, much to Arthur’s doubts about his and Nora’s marriage that Hae Sung’s visit lay upon them. Still, Nora and Hae Sung’s chemistry is so unmatched, that viewers remain absorbed until the end. The movie’s long pauses, awkward dialogues, and spectacular acting, especially from Greta Lee, make it all feel way too real–and too familiar as well. Director Celine Song secured her cinema debut with Past Lives, and it’s an entry worth every applause. She created a movie with so much soul, though, it’s no surprise given her past. Song herself found herself in a similar situation in the past, when her Korean childhood friend visited her while she was living in New York, married to her husband Justin Kuritzkes. And, I believe, it’s also a situation and cobweb of feelings many of us found ourselves in our lives, which is why Past Lives punches you like a boxer in his prime. There have been many Noras, Hae Sungs, and Arthurs in our world. Nora and Hae Sung find themselves playing the same tune but on different strings. Hae Sung hasn’t moved on with his life as much as he’d like to, being “way too Korean,” as Nora states. His love for Nora, or rather Na Young, which is what she was named in South Korea, is the reason he visited New York. Nora, on the other hand, seems to be over it, but the feelings are unburied once she and Hae Sung reconnect, despite Arthur’s worries.
Past Lives keeps it real. As much as we’d love for something major to happen, some things to be said, we–much like the movie’s characters–are left in a blizzard of ambiguous feelings, without answers, finding it hard to keep ourselves together. It seems inappropriate to call Past Lives a love story. It’s rather a tale of “what ifs” facing the unstoppable forces which are life itself. Would they be a perfect couple if Na Young hadn’t left? Could it be changed if they had given themselves more patience in their online friendship? Everyone can answer these, but the answer will never be the same. The reason why Celine Song’s entry to filmmaking is so effective and right to the bone is because its mirage story is a mirror. Everyone knows how to have their first love, and some have certainly experienced losing someone who they would call true love. Or, maybe, they found themselves in Nora or Arthur’s seats. The complexity of love is a major reason is one of the main reasons behind its beauty and strength. Yet, as Past Lives showcases, it’s not always as simple as it seems, even if we consider it to be perfect at some times. Song **** us up to an incredibly slow but stunning journey. Carried by Lee’s award-worthy performance, The Grizzly’s duo (Christopher Bear, Daniel Rossen) ambient soundtrack, and detailed yet not overwhelming shots, it’s a ride we don’t want to end, even though it sometimes hits too close to the chest.
When Nora and Hae Sung first meet after their 24-year-old parting, one of the first things Nora says to him is “Woah.” These were also my first words upon leaving the theater, and cross my mind every time I think of Past Lives. By all means, Woah.
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One of the most overrated movies of the decade.
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Past Lives is a good film, but I hesitate to call it a great film. For every scene that works so well...I can think of 3or 4 scenes that dragged. It is beautifully shot, and the leads both wear their hearts on their sleeve, but I wasn't as moved as I hoped I would have been.
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Production Company
A24,
CJ ENM Co.,
Killer Films,
2AM
Release Date Jun 2, 2023
Duration 1 h 45 m
Rating PG-13
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 5 Nominations
Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Awards
• 3 Wins & 7 Nominations
Indiana Film Journalists Association, US
• 1 Win & 6 Nominations
