REVIEW: Past Lives finds beauty and longing in the smallest gestures

In Korean culture, there’s a philosophical concept known as In-Yun. It’s shared by various Eastern philosophies, and it essentially is a form of providence throughout our reincarnated lives. If you’re walking down the street, and you brush up against another person, that moment represents all the interactions you have two have had over your various lifetimes. In-Yun can be more powerful for closer connections, such as your romantic partner or your parents.

Teo Yoo and Greta Lee in Past Lives, courtesy of Elevation Pictures.

Past Lives, the debut film by Celine Song, is a film very concerned with In-Yun. The film, which is based off of Song’s own experiences, is about a writer called Nora (played by Greta Lee from Russian Doll) born in South Korea who left the nation as a young child. She lives in New York City now with her husband (played by John Magaro from First Cow), but finds herself often wondering about a childhood sweetheart. She hasn’t seen Hae Sung (played by Teo Yoo from Leto) since she was a child, and upon reconnecting as adults she finds that he thinks about her frequently as well.

This films feels like it exists in a conversation with films made by people like Kelly Reichardt, Richard Linklater, and Noah Baumbach. There isn’t a lot of stylistic flair, but the film doesn’t need it. The story, a life long love triangle, is inherently engrossing. This is best exemplified in the opening scene, which depicts the three main characters sitting at a bar together enjoying a drink. This scene is shown from the perspective of other people at the bar, watching them and trying to figure out everyone’s relation to each other.

John Magaro and Greta Lee in Past Lives, courtesy of Elevation Pictures.

At times, the film feels like a play unfolding in two separate hemispheres. The connection between the two main characters is charming and enigmatic, it keeps the audience hooked to learn what might happen next. Their relationship is unconventional, there isn’t really a word for childhood sweethearts talking to each other over 20 years later. But as Song tells me, In-Yun was the term she found herself using to describe this feeling in her own life. “It’s kind of an ineffable connection that they feel towards each other and the kind of relationship they have is so, it’s hard to put into words.”

Celine Song, director of Past Lives, in an interview with City’s Film Critic James Mackin.

Song also tells me that her previous career in theatre helped to prepare for this film. While Past Lives utilizes its medium well, it does at many points feel like something that could play out on a stage with one half representing New York and the other half representing Seoul. Song tells me that with filmmaking, there was “so much of filmmaking that I learned about that was brand new to me.” But it was an easy transition all in all because both mediums are concerned with the same basic idea, “character and story.”

Past Lives finds beauty in small moments. From the anxiety of waiting in a park to meet someone, to the joy of seeing your partner across the street, this film is concerned with all the tiny experiences of In-Yun we encounter in our day to day lives. Our lives, over all the years are filled with these moments. At the time they might not mean much, but they make up the entirety of our life. And for those who believe in reincarnation, they make up all of our lives.

Past Lives is an excellent antidote to the majority of box office symptoms we experience nowadays. For those sick of the latest multiverse film, or the newest entry in a dwindling 20 year old franchise this film is what you’re looking for. A real story about real people doing real things. Past Lives get a 5/5, you can watch it in cinemas now and you can watch my interview with Song below.