Aqib Rasheed
Inyun is a Korean concept that says the connection between two people is a result of countless interactions over the course of their many past lives. This providential idea is explored in Celine Song’s aptly titled, melancholic, and masterful Past Lives. What seems like a “will they-won’t they” and “who will she choose” romantic drama is actually a thoughtful and meticulous journey about growing up and saying goodbye. There hasn’t been a finer film in 2023 yet and it will be hard to topple this masterpiece.
After immigrating twice, Nora (Greta Lee) is a playwright in New York married to Arthur (John Magaro), an author. Nora’s childhood sweetheart, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), visits her from Korea after not seeing her for over 20 years. They spend time together and confront the concept of inyun, destiny, and what could have been.
Seeing the trailer of this movie or reading a simple logline, many people have an idea of what they might be getting into especially since there have been a number of love triangle films. We’ve all seen them and so has Song. She doesn’t want to make another one of those movies and subverts our expectations as soon as the second act begins. In fact, Past Lives has an incredible narrative structure and a phenomenal screenplay.
Song cleverly splits the movie into three parts, each separated by 12 years. In act one, Nora and Hae Sung are kids crushing on each other as they find out Nora is moving. One would imagine the next act would be Nora and Hae Sung in New York as the trailer promised. No, we fast forward 12 years and Nora and Hae Sung reconnect over Skype in their 20s. Act three is where we move ahead 12 more years and the two meet in New York. It’s almost as if each section represents a past life. There was some force that brought the pair together, a force that neither of them could control. Moreover, their meeting in each of those lives is a result of countless prior meetings in a vast number of past lives.
But, in each of those lives, something happens. Something happens which causes them to cease living that life and move on to the next one. What happens and why it happens is best left unsaid. Even though this is mostly a quiet movie, Song’s meticulous direction and gripping screenplay allow Past Lives to feel like a thriller at times. I felt on the edge of my seat multiple times, engrossed by these characters and the outstanding performances.
Lee and Yoo have to mature just like Nora and Hae Sung throughout the movie and they both are impeccable muses for Song. Both of them and Magaro deliver some of the finest performances of the year (perhaps the top three). The best thing Song does is avoid shrouding any of her characters in a villainous light. It may seem easy to root against Arthur since he seems like the one standing in the way of “true love”. But, you can’t. What he and Nora have is love and that is undeniable. You can’t even think Hae Sung is a bad guy for coming to New York to see Nora because, again, there is so much love there.
Lee is a revelation, giving a nuanced and heartbreaking performance. In the film’s final minutes, she doesn’t do much talking but the acting she does with her face and emotions bowled me over. Nora is trapped between so many ideas—immigration, identity, love, etc.—and Lee does a tremendous job at conveying that. Even in such a heavy film, she is still able to use her great comic timing and get a few laughs.
It’s Yoo, however, who steals the show for me. He gets the hardest character because Hae Sung is such a fascinating creation. He knows there’s something special between him and Nora but he also respects the sanctity of her marriage. Hae Sung even mentions to Nora, “I didn’t know liking your husband would be so hard.” There is so much pain in this character and an equal amount of respect. I can’t see any other actor, other than Yoo, playing Hae Sung so perfectly. He nails every beat and elevates the character from being a typical sad boy to a layered and complex character.
Special mention to Magaro who elevates every single project he’s a part of. Arthur, like Hae Sung, is not an easy character to play but Magaro does a great job of making him someone we can like and even feel bad for. There’s a moment where he tells Nora in bed, “You make my world so much bigger. I hope I do the same for you.” It’s such a sincere and warm performance that makes Arthur a key player in this story of fate rather than the bad guy.
Much has been said about this movie’s third act and rightfully so. The only word that can describe the last 40 minutes of Past Lives is breathtaking. After going through this journey with Nora and Hae Sung, it culminates in them meeting up in New York sightseeing and going out with Arthur. The trio goes to a bar in the movie’s best scene. Nora and Hae Sung talk exclusively in Korean and discuss their inyun. They go through different possibilities of what they could’ve been to each other in previous lifetimes in a wildly romantic sequence. This scene will have audiences swooning in their seats like they never have before.
And then the ending—what an ending. I won’t say much except that it’s one of the best endings in recent times. There’s a jump cut that absolutely floored me with how perfectly it’s placed and edited. There could’ve been a variety of ways Song ended Past Lives but the way she ends it is perfect, just like the movie in its entirety.
Past Lives is a triumph, plain and simple. Celine Song gives one of the strongest directorial debuts of the past 10 years and introduces herself as someone with a major vision. This is not your parents’ or grandparents’ romantic drama. It’s a contemporary film with contemporary people involved in front of and behind the camera—this is a special movie.
Don’t make Past Lives the one that got away.
