In her feature-length debut “Past Lives,” Director Celine Song presents an intimate and delicate three-decade-spanning portrait of the importance people play in our lives that resembles Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy. However, unlike the aforementioned series of films, it subverts people’s romantic fantasies. Instead, it chooses to decipher the reasons why living in a constant state of “what if” injures one’s soul. So grab a box of tissues and call the person you love the most; this is indeed a special picture.
What does life have in store for all of us? It just seems like the world is constantly punishing everyone, later to send little compensations that arrive in an array of ways, whether it is a job opportunity you’d been looking forward to or an encounter with a person that leads to a deeper bond. Everything we do is guided by our own decisions and how we confront (or overcome) them depending on the results. It seems that we are all lost in this void right until we come across a familiar situation; the moment something unrecognizable knocks on our door, intrigue and fear fuel our souls. But a head held high will help to keep off the nerves.
Drawing on Linklater… But Not Copying
This interconnection between time, fate, and the language of human interactions (as well as our thought process) is demonstrated in Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy, more so in the series’ last two pictures, “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight.” Those films span three different decades, each film seven years apart. Linklater’s brilliant “Before” trilogy covered the “love at first sight” romance between two strangers turned husband and wife. In these films, Richard Linklater wanted to invite the viewer on a long-running journey that teaches them about honesty, love, and that aching sensation of longing that fills your soul with bliss once fate presents you with a gift. In this case, it is a meeting between two young tourists on a train that later turns into a “Will I ever see you again?” scenario.
I do not like the first installment because it is way too cheesy and unrealistic. It opts out for the fantasy-esque meeting that takes me out of the experience. The other two features, in both passionate and melancholic ways, demonstrate the beauty in the intertwining of fate, time, and human connection. “Past Lives,” the feature-length debut by playwright-turned-filmmaker Celine Song (known for her play “Endlings”), draws some comparisons to these films as it is also a decade-spanning romance. But it isn’t close to being a carbon copy, unlike other directors that Linklater’s work has inspired. While there might be some resemblances between them, Song incorporates the Korean concept of In-yun. That term refers to the ties between two people over the course of their lives, a predestined relationship.
This is one of the many ways in which the film gets its touching title. The thousands of connections from the past (whether platonic, passionate, or neither) forge our present (and future). Fate and destiny might be at the forefront of this beautifully nuanced and intimate picture. But, the romance glances in “Past Lives” are opposite to Linklater’s vision in his three-course run. Song presents them in a way that shows how a person lives when they lose the person they cared for the most, dealing with the cards life has dealt. Celine Song’s beautiful film is a tale of three decades and two countries (New York and Korea) that are far away from each other, centered around Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo).
A Film Divided into Three Stages
The film divides its story into three stages in their life. In each one of them, they connect in different means but ultimately move through their own respective courses in life. Each act captures a different perspective of how fate and destiny work. But Celine Song doesn’t want to make it seem like she’s romanticizing Kismet. Instead, she blesses us with tactility and metatextual reflection in its emotions. At the beginning of the film, some disembodied voices are making guesses about what Nora, Hae Sung, and Arthur are for one another as they all sit at a bar. Are they friends? Lovers? Co-workers? These comments provide a glimpse of different stories that could have been told here, a past life. Alongside these voices, the audience hypothesizes as well.
The two of them begin as childhood friends in Seoul, walking together from their home to school (and vice versa). They try to beat one another to become the top of the class. They are drawn to each other — the first glimpses of fate curating its mysterious magic. The inclusion of these childhood scenes adds a beautiful layer of reconciliation that reflects throughout the rest of the movie, those parts where Nora and Hae Sung will eventually meet once again and think about the “what could have beens.” These are quite uneventful moments. Yet, Celine Song makes the best out of them via a delicate touch on the wistfulness of youth. When you feel that feeling of innocence, and young slow-burn romance will stay forever, it leaves without a whisper.
Nora’s family immigrated to Canada (later on to the United States). Their relationship is cut short and leaves a hole in their hearts. And it isn’t until two different time junctures — twelve and twenty-four years later — that they will reconnect again. A video call is what reunites the two distanced souls. Nora and Hae Sung show that they have an affection for each other via gentle glances and subtle quips rather than delivering the expected cheesy dialogue of a romantic comedy. It’s just like Jesse and Celine at the finale of “Before Sunrise.” They set a promise to seal the deal. Fate keeps bringing them together repeatedly as if they were meant for one another from the beginning. Hae Sung promises to visit her in the big city… at least one day. Nora won’t wait forever.
Indeed a Special Picture
There comes a certain point with long-distance relationships that one can’t hold onto for a very extended period of time. And that’s when Nora meets Arthur (John Magaro) at a writer’s retreat. The two of them hit things off quickly. The romance between them blossoms into a rich bouquet of ethereal and vivid affection, enriched by the beautiful and carefully thought-out lines they share with one another. Time passes by; his childhood friend hasn’t made an appearance. Nora decides to move on from the romantic fantasy of seeing Hae Sung’s face one day. But, devastatingly, the man has finally fulfilled his promise and has come to visit the now-married woman. The final section of their journey, where they meet one another as if time hasn’t passed, molds into a beautiful portrait of fragmented human nature confronting the past and embracing what’s to come.
Celine Songs’s creation, “Past Lives,” and her on-screen depiction of the term In-yun plays with heartstrings constantly. The irreversibility of time, a pet topic for the post-pandemic era, is a vital aspect of this film. It tells us that no matter what happens at the end of each decision made and words spoken, we must accept the changes that arrive throughout the passing of time. The film meditates on the paths people don’t take, the opportunities they don’t seize, in a way that feels quite liberating and expressive in various means. You often wonder if Song actually went through a similar scenario. Each story beat feels poignant and authentic. The initial moments that introduce “Past Lives” cross through your mind throughout the entire runtime, especially during the film’s bittersweet goodbye. It’s one last glance that will close their chapter.
When the curtains close, the viewer ponders about their own “what ifs.” You don’t yearn to go back in time and make another choice. Instead, you are grateful for the path you have taken. Celine Song’s directorial debut has moved me like no other film this year has.
“Past Lives” released in select theaters on June 2nd and will release nationwide on June 23rd.
