We all had a childhood crush, but what if it's more than that? What if after being separated by continents and more than 20 years, you reconnect? Is it fate? That is the central question of Past Lives, the feature debut for playwright Celine Song. And what a debut it is, as the movie spans decades and continents and yet is a masterclass in making a story feel intimate and singular, while also lyrical and universal.
Loosely based on Song's own life, the story follows Nora (Greta Lee), whose family immigrated to Canada from South Korea when she was 12 years old. Years later she reconnects with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), her childhood sweetheart. Though Nora has made a life for herself in New York with her husband Arthur (John Magaro), when Hae Sung comes to visit they wonder if their reunion is "in yun," a South Korean word meaning providence or fate.
In a world where blockbuster movies like Fast X and the Marvel universe dominate the big screen (Lee even stars in one such movie, as LYLA in the also brilliant Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), Past Lives may seem pretty straightforward and simple to some. There are no big action pieces or special effects, there really isn't even a big romantic gesture in the climatic moments of the movie where Nora is forced to choose between Hae Sung and Arthur. But that perceived simplicity is actually what makes the movie such a miraculous accomplishment and no easy feat to pull off.
With no big conceit or overly flashy sequences to aid her, Song relies entirely on her script, actors and camera to enrapture audiences with this love story. And all three components prove to be near perfect.
Song's script flips back and forth between achingly beautiful moments between Nora and Hae Sung, with both things said and those unsaid, to surprisingly funny moments, in particular with Nora and Arthur. Helping to bring these moments to life are the actors' brilliant performances, but a special tip of the cap to Lee, who is magnificent in portraying the duality of her character as she tries to balance the two loves of her life.
Song also has no issue making the transition from stage to screen, as she is able to infuse so much meaning into the movie through its camerawork. With the help of cinematographer Shabier Kircher (Small Axe), the silent moments of these characters on screen are able to express so much without a word, whether it is Hae Sung looking like a child again as he waits to meet Nora for the first time since they were 12, or Nora caught not only between Hae Sung and Arthur but her past and her present while they all sit at a bar.
Past Lives has all the makings to not only be the best love story that we will see in movies in 2023, but to be an all-time great cinematic love story. And cinematic is the right word to use. No, you won't be seeing it on an IMAX screen like Oppenheimer or have to don 3D glasses to take you to another world like in Avatar, but Past Lives is a movie that excels on the big screen. Watching it on a 40-foot screen allows us to be fully immersed in Nora and Hae Sung's story, able to feel all the layers of in yun that have brought this incredible tale of two people to be enjoyed by moviegoers everywhere.
Past Lives is playing exclusively in US movie theaters, expanding nationwide on June 23. It is slated for release in the UK on September 8.
