Past Lives
“Past Lives makes time for the minutiae that define the immigrant experience.”
Title: Past Lives (2023)
Director: Celine Song 👩🏻🇰🇷🇨🇦
Writer: Celine Song 👩🏻🇰🇷🇨🇦
Reviewed by Murtada Elfadl 👨🏽🇸🇩🇺🇸🌈
Technical: 5/5
An immigrant narrative, a marriage story, and a polemic about connections from childhood that cannot be shaken—Celine Song’s Past Lives is all these things and more. Nora (Greta Lee) emigrates from South Korea to Canada as a child, leaving behind the boy with whom she shared a profound friendship. Two decades later, she’s a successful playwright in New York City married to another writer, Arthur (John Magaro), but when her childhood friend Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) comes to visit, all three have to face volcanic emotions they rather avoid.
As she says in her director's statement shared with press, Song was inspired by her own life and relationships in crafting this uniquely touching story. Spanning more than two decades and criss-crossing between continents, Past Lives feels titanic in scope, though the enormity comes from its emotional resonance rather than its timeline or geography. Ostensibly told from Nora’s perspective, the screenplay is generous to the other two characters and gives the audience clues to understand their respective journeys.
The film unfolds in conversations: in restaurants and bars; in vacation spots; over Skype. This setup might make Past Lives seem simpler than it is, but it allows riveting dialogue and fine-tuned performances to ring true. It’s about all the little things that cannot be easily expressed. All the more impressive, then, that Song does just that.
Gender: 5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES
Past Lives centers the interior life of its female protagonist. Everything reverberates around how Nora feels and how she acts on those feelings. Her decisions, the way she moves in the world, the ramifications that her emotions have on her and those around her—that’s the story here.
Race: 5/5
Past Lives makes time for the minutiae that define the immigrant experience, like when Nora’s husband tells her that she dreams in Korean and he’s afraid he’ll never fully understand her. Or when the protagonists stop at the immigration desk in the airport, having to explain their relationships to each other and to the country they are visiting. Other films might skip such moments, but Song pointedly includes them to complete her narrative of alienation. They demonstrate how someone like Nora might assimilate, yet still feel a deep longing from the old country. Furthermore, the culture clash between east and west is eloquently expressed in how Hae Sung and Arthur react to Nora. The screenplay and performances, through body language and cadence, show how these characters can be different yet the same, depending on what language they are speaking or with whom they are conversing.
Mediaversity Grade: A+ 5.00/5
Past Lives gives audiences a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience, all about the undercurrents of relationships. It deftly balances between three lead characters, giving each a full arc while still centering Nora.
Like Past Lives? Try these other East Asian immigrant narratives.
Decision to Leave (2022)
Minari (2020)
Tigertail (2020)