My Review of "Past Lives"

Past Lives is a drama that came out in 2023. It's generally not a movie that I normally gravitate to but for some reason I was drawn to it. Yes, it's a movie about romance but there's a lot more to it than that. Some of the situations could be viewed as metaphors for something else missing in their lives.

The movie starts off with a young Nora and Hae Sung. They're both about 12 or 13 years old and living in Seoul, South Korea. Nora is the girl and Hae Sung is the boy. The two have a connection with one another. They both like each other and the joy of their youthful exuberance is felt while the two play in the park. All is well but only for a slight moment.

Nora and her family have decided to move to Toronto, Canada. Her parents are artists looking to expand their horizons outside of Korea. Nora is excited about the big move but poor Hae Sung doesn't know how to deal with it. One second his best friend and him are having the best time of their lives and then she's gone.

12 years later out of a whim, now in New York, Nora is curious about her childhood friend Hae Sung. She finds out he's looking for her and the two finally connect. It's as if the two never really lost a beat. The two still have this great connection with one another but the distance is quite taxing on the two. Nora decides that this can't continue anymore. Either Hae Sung visits her in New York or they can't really talk to each other anymore. Both of them are devastated and eventually move on with their lives.

Then another 12 years pass by and Hae Sung decides to visit Nora in New York. The thing is Nora is now married and quite established in New York. Still the two are curious as to how their friend has been doing. The visit continues but there are tons of questions and retrospection between the two.

This movie is such an interesting story about growing up and connections with each other. On one hand you can see the movie for what it is. Lost love trying to continue to continue the flame as the candles are slowly drifting apart.

I didn't know who to root for. Really you can't really root for anyone. Each party involved including the husband are all well intentioned and doing their best to navigate their own lives. None of them have an evil bone in their bodies. They're all just trying to make their best decisions as life hits them with new obstacles. That's why this movie is so relatable. We see ourselves in each of the characters as they're constantly wrestling with their thoughts.

There's another way of looking at this movie. Hae Sung is Nora's connection to her roots. A lot of us long for our childhood, it's the reason why we're so fascinated with nostalgia. Nora's presented someone that represents both her past and her roots as a Korean woman. She's moved over to North America for quite a while and doesn't really interact with too many Koreans. In some ways she's lost some of her connection with her past. For Hae Sung to show up in front of her, it's like the embodiment of her culture.

Hae Sung also has a lot to think about as well. He has been hurt by the abrupt disappearance of Nora from the past on two separate situations. He needs some closure to his feelings for Nora. I guess Nora's husband, Arthur, also needs that closure as well.

Arthur is probably one of the most emotionally intelligent people I've ever seen on screen. I would not be able to handle some of the jealousy and inadequacy that he felt in this movie. He shows his emotions but he's able to contain them and still read how Nora's doing. I don't know how he does it but this guy is some kind of saint.

Everyone in this movie is great and I could see myself in all of them. Each situation is unique and all so real. This felt like a very grounded story that people around the world continue to tackle. I'm really glad I got to experience this film for what it was.

Overall it was a great time because it made me think a lot of my past, present and future. There are a lot of awkward moments but they're meant to be awkward. I was constantly thinking of what each of the characters were thinking at all moments. It is a slow burn and most of it is in Korean with subtitles so some might not really enjoy that. I have to give it a 7.5 out of 10.