Past Lives (2023)

As children in South Korea, Na Young (Seung Ah Moon) and Hae Sung (Seung Min Yim) share a close bond. Their relationship is just starting when Na Young’s parents decide to move to Canada. The two drift apart as their lives move on in different countries.

Twelve years later, Na Young—now Nora (Greta Lee)—is an aspiring playwright in New York City. Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) is an engineering student back in Seoul who never stopped thinking about his childhood sweetheart. They reconnect over Facebook, and their lives revolve around regular Skype calls. However, with no sign that either one of them is willing to upend their early careers, the stream of video calls stop.

Another 12 years pass before they reconnect again. Hae Sung finally visits New York and brings up all the feelings they thought they had left behind. The film explores the tender feelings of relationships at various stages, from budding playground crushes to adulthood’s alleged certainty.

The characters’ ample dialogue in Song’s script moves the audience not with dramatic overtures but with realistic conversations that reveal vulnerable emotions. Tenderly framed by cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, “Past Lives” gives us careful close-ups of Nora’s face and Hae Sung’s expressive reactions as vividly as any line of dialogue.

“Past Lives is beautiful in almost every aspect and is easily one of the best films of the year so far”. SOURYA SUR ROY