Past Lives (2023) – Living

Released: 31st August 2023
Seen: 25th February 2024

There’s a pretty standard formula when it comes to romantic dramas about childhood sweethearts who split apart and then bump into each other as adults. The cute childhood couple ends up blowing up their adult lives because the connection they had decades ago is still so strong and it’s cute, it’s romantic, it’s a cliche story choice for a reason because it’s got a feel-good charm to it, but it’s also not realistic. Being willing to blow up your life to be with someone you knew as a kid is not something people really do that often, but it happens all the time in movies. You never see a story of people who used to have a relationship, reuniting and realising that things actually turned out kind of OK in the long run… at least, you didn’t until Celine Song came along and created a realistic and truly touching romantic drama called Past Lives, 

Past Lives begins with the childhood sweethearts Na Young (Seung Ah Moon) and Hae Sung (Seung Min Yim), a pair of 12-year-old classmates living in South Korea who are trying to navigate the strange new romantic feelings they have. It’s your typical sweet childhood romance, about as innocent as it could possibly be, but it’s sadly broken up when Na’s family decides to immigrate to Canada, causing Na and Hae to lose touch with each other. Time goes on, years pass and Na changes her name to Nora Moon (Greta Lee), she also takes up writing which leads to her meeting and falling in love with an American man named Arthur (John Magaro). Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) goes through military training and, after a little looking about on Facebook, finds the profile of his old friend Nora and they start having little online chats. Another decade passes and Hae Sung ends up deciding to travel to New York to try and catch up with Nora and see just where their relationship is, to maybe see how much different it might have been had they both stayed in South Korea and continued their childhood love story.

Past Lives is the kind of quiet innocent film that just radiates charm from every single frame, from the very moment the film begins until the second the credits roll there’s a kind of peaceful tranquility to it all. It’s a drama where the tension doesn’t come from wondering how these two are going to get together, but if it would even be worth them doing it since both of them seem to be living happy enough lives as it is. It’s a more realistic love story, one that certainly plays with the ideas we might expect from a romance like this but it never pushes it so far that you feel like Nora and Hae have to end up together, it might be nice but the reality that their lives are so different now creates a fascinating dynamic for the film to play with.

With its quiet story matched by a realistic and subtle visual language, Past Lives revels in quiet looks between characters that say more than all the dialogue in the world. Its sweet charm just rests on how familiar it feels, the simplicity of a cute semi-date over Zoom, the meet-up in the park after so long feeling awkward and new, it’s all so real and pure that it’s kind of stunning to realise this is Celine Song’s directorial debut. This doesn’t feel like a first film, this feels like the comfort film you make after learning your craft for 20 other movies but Celine did this for her opener and it shows a confidence and control that makes her the kind of director/writer to keep an eye on.

Of course, a film that’s entirely about three people dealing with a complex romantic situation really only works if you have a great cast and the three leads of this one work wonderfully together. John Magaro has the almost thankless task of being the nice guy who Nora ends up with, a role that most films would turn into a villain who needs to be pushed aside or someone so remarkable that it shows how great our male lead is to be picked over them but Arthur is just a decent guy, a role that’s hard to sell because it’s never going to be that extreme but sure enough it works. It’s the kind of role that sits in the background and steps up when needed, that’s what’s being done here.

Then there’s Teo Yoo, again he kind of has to play with the trope of romantic films of this lovable guy who fights for the girl but here he’s being realistic and seeing that she’s happy as she is, it’s not an easy dynamic to make work but Teo does it in a way that transcends language barriers. Most of his dialogue is in Korean, which really makes him feel like an outsider in the scenes where he’s in New York and has to have everything translated for him. There’s an effortless sweetness to him that makes you root for him and hope that maybe things will work out in his favour, something that just comes through every time that he’s on screen.

The undeniable standout, and frankly one of the big snubs from this year’s Oscars, is Greta Lee who carries the whole film on her back and runs away with it like it was nothing. Playing a complex character who is just trying to live a normal life when her past life comes back to see if she wants to change everything is something she sells, you wonder if she’ll actually choose to drop everything and run off with her childhood love and you can see that it might not even be a real consideration. She manages to show how powerful a simple look can be, how one tiny smile can say more than anything. One of the big scenes happens when Arthur and Nora invite Teo out for a drink and Nora has to play translator, something that Greta pulls off so effortlessly. The whole power of the film rests on Greta’s performance and damned if she doesn’t supercharge this thing.

Of course, the core reason Past Lives is being reviewed here is that it has an Oscar nomination for writing and best picture and the script is just so carefully thought out and realistic that it’s kind of stunning. It feels less like someone wrote it and more like someone lived it and transcribed what really happened. It feels like a real slice of life that we just get to marvel in, enjoying this brief moment in these people’s time on this planet before leaving them alone to finish their story without us watching the whole time. It’s wonderfully written and so carefully constructed that it’s no wonder it’s getting awards nods, it just might be a little too peaceful and quiet for a lot of audiences to really get into.

Past Lives is a special kind of romance film, one that plays within the realms of realism more than most others would. Its calm, quiet style combined with playing against the tropes we know so well make for a relaxing and engaging experience. It’s not some intense heightened romantic drama where someone’s life hangs in the balance, it’s the drama of how life doesn’t work out quite like you think it will and making the most of it. It’s almost quaint, a quiet sweet charmer that’s going to be the kind of film people put on when they just want something easy to enjoy without much baggage. Past Lives is just a damn nice film, that’s often just what we need.