Past Lives
PAST LIVES (12)
D: Celine Song
A24 / CJ ENM / Killer Films / 2AM (David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon & Pamela Koffer)
US / South Korea 🇺🇸🇰🇷 2023
106 mins
Drama/Romance
W: Celine Song
DP: Shabier Kirshner
Ed: Keith Fraase
Mus: Christopher Bear & Daniel Rossen
Greta Lee (Nora Moon), Teo Soo (Hae Sung), John Magaro (Arthur Zaturansky), Ji-Hye Yoon (Nora’s Mother), Choi Won-Young (Nora’s Father), Seung Ah Moon (Young Nora), Seung Min Yim (Young Hae Sung)
Celine Song’s Past Lives is ample proof that sometimes the simplest stories make the greatest films.
It follows the paths of two childhood friends who attempt to reconcile after 24 years.
As children, Na Young & Hae Sung always share the same walk to school, but lose touch when Na’s family emigrate to Toronto, Canada and she changes her name to Nora Moon.
As adults, Nora has become a writer living in New York City, whilst Hae Sung has completed his military service and gets in touch with his childhood friend over social media.  They make plans to meet, but the distance, financial cost and work priorities make it immediately impossible.
During a work retreat, Nora meets Arthur, who she subsequently falls in love with and marries, and several years later, Hae Sung visits New York to reconnect with his childhood friend and the two contemplate the nature of their relationship, the journey of their lives and other various factors.
The title of the film refers to the Buddhist concept of Inyeon, where a relationship between two people in the present is influenced by events in previous lives.  Writer-director Celine Song wrote the script with semi-autobiographical influences, and the personal touch shows, as this film is truly a labour of love, provoking theories about existentialism that will still be with you long after the end credits roll.
The two leads provide fine performances, but Celine Song’s screenplay is the true star here, making this one of the best films of 2023, if not the best.
South Korean cinema may have been given a bigger lease of life since the success of 2019’s Parasite, but there’s been plenty of great films from the country over the past few decades and this is easily amongst the very best.
8/10
