Over the past summer, in between films of nuclear bombs and dreamhouses slipped a quiet picture, operating on a $12 million budget with hardly any marketing to its name; Past Lives is the debut feature from director Celine Song, and it may just be the best movie of the year.
My experience with Past Lives is a unique one to say the least. I first saw it in a Fine Arts cinema in San Juan, not realizing that a great deal of the time the characters spoke in Korean, and subtitles would be a necessity, subtitles that, unfortunately for me, were in Spanish. I came out of the movie having understood around 70% of what was said, and I realized that I needed to see it again. Now that I have seen the film twice, I have come to the realization that seeing it one time without understanding the parts in Korean gave me a completely different perspective on the movie as a whole, and if you have seen the movie, you can figure out why.
The film follows two childhood friends whose paths have long since diverged, and the “drama” that ensues when the two meet again. It is here however where the beauty in the story lies: there is no drama to be had. The movie opts out of tropes and clichés to instead deliver a real and intimate story, one with strength in its subtlety and power in its ambiguity. The script is one that can make any writer envious, as its use of multiple languages and incorporation of myriad cultures, as well as its handling of the interplay between those cultures and languages, are executed brilliantly within a focused 100 minutes. This is not to say that the story is told on anything close to a grand scale, however, as the film rarely has anything on screen other than two or three people talking.
Though a large amount of the film’s brilliance can be attributed to its writing, there is just as much to be said about the visuals; the imagery and shot composition in the movie are amongst the best seen all year, and these elements tell a story almost by themselves. Because of the stark nature of the dialouge, the visuals are put in a spotlight so to speak, and carry a great deal of the weight of the story. It was hard for me to believe that this was the director’s first outing, as the film’s mature and concentrated tone are in no way indicative of a beginner behind the camera. There are a plethora of vignettes within the movie that speak volumes between the scarce dialouge, and the film manufactures a beauty as timid as it is powerful.
The film, being a slower-paced, dialouge-driven one, owes a lot of its success in execution to its acting. No matter how powerful the script of a movie, actors that understand it are required to make it stick, and that they do in Past Lives. The star of the film, Greta Lee, gives a performance as the character Nora that, while it may not win an Oscar, serves the picture greatly, and is a large part of what makes it memorable. That said, one would be remiss without mentioning her chemistry with actors Teo Yoo (playing Hae Sung) and John Magaro (playing Arthur), as the three of them work in a sort of deconstructed love triangle that may just drive the audience up a wall (in the best way). There lies a palpable tension amongst these three, or rather an intense lackthereof, that keeps the viewer sweating pleasantly, and with a quiet hope; it is impossible not to fall in love with these characters, their aspirations, their relationships.
The film offers many intense, philosophical ideas that hold a power to stick with the audience long after viewing. With themes of fate, love, destiny, and “what ifs,” it is impossible for one not to see themself somewhere in the film, whether it be the out-of-touch husband, or the heartbroken childhood sweethearts.
Past Lives is the culmination of a mastery in all sects of film-making. Never has there been a film like it, and there likely never will be again; it is a movie that has the power to haunt, make one want to cherish the ephemeral.
Images:
Greta Lee And Teo Yoo in Past Lives. (2023). GQ. https://media.gq.com/photos/64ea9f7905e3a8acb2fa7700/4:3/w_2148,h_1611,c_limit/MCDPALI_EC043.jpeg
Scene from Past Lives. (2023). The Spokesman-Review. https://thumb.spokesman.com/XPrMWCEZquf9mxx5UayXMRqz1mc=/2500×1405/smart/media.spokesman.com/photos/2023/05/31/6477c167739d8.hires.jpg
Bibliography:
Song, C. (Director). (2023). Past Lives. A24.
