‘Past Lives’ movie examines heartbreak in a creative and tragically beautiful way

Courtesy of Manshen Lo

An exclusive poster given out to viewers in U.K. previews of the film, which was released publicly in U.K. theaters on Sept. 8, 2023.

Spoiler alert: This review contains references to several key plot points.

As the credits for “Past Lives” rolled, I silently processed what I had just experienced in the last hour and a half. For a relatively short movie, it felt as though I had been shoved through the emotional wringer over and over again. 

Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year and opening nationwide in the U.S. in late June, Celine Song’s quiet what-if romance proved to be an indie hit, winning the Audience Award at Sundance London and Best Indie Film at the Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards. 

Personally, the film struck more than a few chords within me. The movie’s brilliant script, carefully planned cinematography and nuanced delivery make it an achingly emotional exploration of destiny and love, driving home the idea that we must come to terms with the life we are given, because the life we want is often barred by fate. 

The film centers on Nora Moon, an aspiring writer who immigrated to the U.S. from Seoul as a child, leaving her first love, Hae Sung, behind. 

Set mainly 24 years later, the plot explores Nora and Hae Sung’s reunion, except Nora is now married to her close writing associate Arthur Zaturansky. Thus, as Nora does not wish to upend her life and stable, loving marriage with Arthur, the two childhood friends realize that they were never meant for each other, and choose to part ways and find closure.

Although this story of reunification at first feels like an overdone concept (The Before Trilogy, “The Notebook,” “Casablanca,” etc.), the film sets itself apart from other stories through its realistic portrayal of how relationships end. Unlike other stories where the main couple inevitably ends up together due to the strength of their love, “Past Lives” acknowledges that factors like timing and distance are equally important — sometimes even intense feelings aren’t enough to justify resuming a relationship. 

Song continues to bend the genre by taking the “right person, wrong time” trope and dismantling it with the Buddhist concept of “inyeon,” the way fate intertwines the lives of two people through each cycle of reincarnation. 

Specifically, “Past Lives” deals with the idea that every single moment spent with one another contributes to a cycle of predestined connections spanning thousands of lifetimes. 

For Nora and Hae Sung, they realize that although their relationship was never meant to be in this life, that shouldn’t invalidate the feelings they had for each other, since those feelings are part of the cycles of inyeon that tie them together throughout all their lives — in a past life, they might have been friends and in a future life, they may have the committed relationship that they always dreamed of.

This catharsis is most obvious towards the end of the movie, when the audience comes full circle and watches Nora, Hae Sung and Arthur communicating about their feelings in a bar — echoing the film’s opening scene. This time, the viewer listens as all of the implied but devastatingly suppressed feelings held by each character are released in one long conversation. Hae Sung and Nora finally reconcile with their past, letting go of the feelings that held them together and held them back. 

With long and dialogue-heavy scenes like this one, the movie showcases Song’s screenwriting talent. 

Such scenes are also contrasted with simple, lengthy sequences with minimal dialogue.

Take, for example, a scene in the middle of the film where Nora moves into her writing residency, a serene cottage in Montauk surrounded by beautiful landscapes and hills, and wanders around admiring her new home. The lack of any dialogue doesn’t slow the movie down, but instead draws the viewer into Nora’s world and allows the viewer to feel her optimism for the start of a new era in her life. 

These moments contribute to the film’s artistic quality — every choice made by the director is intentional and meaningful. Another standout instance is a scene when Nora and Hae Sung explore New York City. 

Song frames Nora and Hae Sung separately for almost the entire movie up to this point, with only a select few scenes where they share the camera, creating the sense that they are destined never to end up together. This method reaches its climax when the two meet in-person for the first time in 24 years at Central Park. The camera lingers on both characters separately as they glance at each other from across a grassy field, alternating between the two until they finally are able to hug within one shot. 

Without the audience even realizing, Song’s camera angle setup in this scene develops the dynamic between the two characters in a compelling and touching way.

Shabier Kirchner’s aesthetic cinematography and attention to detail further elevates each scene. Recurring motifs of statues, mirrors and long drives make each significant moment easily recognizable and memorable, while simpler exchanges like Skype calls between characters are still shot against the majestic backdrops of the New York, Seoul and Beijing city skylines. 

Obviously, this movie would not be complete without the spectacular performances of its three leads, Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro. Lee, who is known for roles like Lyla in the Spider-Verse movies, shines as Nora, capturing each emotion felt perfectly through her body language. Similarly, Teo Yoo delicately reminds the audience of his emotions through his eyes. 

However, John Magaro’s less involved but still tragically stoic performance as Arthur steals the show for me. He takes the emotional high points of the movie and elevates them even further through the ways in which his subtle facial expressions are juxtaposed with situations that would usually incite a much more extreme feeling. Magaro’s nuanced approach not only helps characterize Arthur as someone sympathetic but still hesitant toward Nora’s goals, but it also makes even minute shifts in expression easily noticeable for the audience, which further enhances the emotional intensity of each scene he’s in.

As a simple yet rich story about two former lovers reconnecting, “Past Lives” proves to be a visually stunning and creatively groundbreaking movie that critics agree is one of the best films of the year. If you haven’t watched it yet, this movie is a must-see for all, especially those who have experience with relationships.