Past Lives is a film that deserves attention. Written and directed by Celine Song, a relative newcomer to filmmaking and playwrighting, she demonstrates great promise and ability with her debut feature film. Past Lives currently is playing in theaters and streaming on Prime Video. Critics are pleased and thrilled. Same for audiences.
I was not surprised to read that Killer Films, the amazing independent film production company led by Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, helped to bring this film to fruition. A few dozen of America’s greatest independent features were given birth by Vachon and Koffler. With such gifted producers behind the production and its capable off- and on-screen creators, I would not be surprised if an Oscar is headed for Celine Song’s mantelpiece.
Past Lives is a semi-autobiographical work. Song is a South Korean/Canadian artist living in New York City with her writer husband Justin Kuritzkes. The plot of Past Lives revolves around a youngster and later grown woman named Nora Moon, nee Na Young. The story begins in Seoul and takes the viewer through Nora’s immigration to Canada and later to New York.
As a twelve-year-old, Na Young has a sweetheart Hae Sung. They have playdates together and are two of the smartest kids in their class at school. But Na Young and her family immigrate to Canada. That’s fine with her; she sees a Nobel Prize for Literature in her future which is more apt to happen if she moves from South Korea, she says.
Twelve years pass. As the story progresses, the two reconnect by email and Skype. They are growing into the persons they will become. He does military duty and works towards a degree in engineering; she has been awarded a place at a writers’ residence.
Twelve additional years pass. Nora has a Caucasian Jewish husband, a fellow writer. Hae Sung’s romantic life is more complicated. Nora and he stop their communication for a while and then reconnect again – even see each other face to face.
From my description, Past Lives is the tale of an on and off romance. No. It is so much more. It is a visually beautiful study of loves, valid types of deep love. It shows the love that does not fade and love that makes life extraordinary and an emotional feast.
Occasionally the editing is a bit abrupt. Other than that, the filmmaking is artful, a treat. The cinematography by Shabier Kirchner is superb. Song has an ability to use street scenes, artworks, and natural settings to demonstrate the inner emotions of her characters. One scene where the two youngsters part, where the boy takes a fairly level street route to his left and the girl sidles off on a set of painted stairs, sums up the inner feelings of the lead characters. Song is outstanding as a screenwriter and filmmaker.
Past Lives isn’t a melodrama, even though the storyline might well bring a writer to that genre. Instead, it is a real-life style drama. The three leads, Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro, understand that and play their roles suitably.
And I will take the liberty of adding that some of the situation of this film mirrors my life. When a motion picture deals with a plot that a viewer has lived, the results can be disappointing. Not so here. The emotions displayed by the characters were very close to my own life experience. I was amazed by this film, and – from the published reactions of those who have seen it, many have been amazed by Past Lives, a remarkable debut movie by Celine Song.
Audrey Kupferberg is a film and video archivist and retired appraiser. She is lecturer emeritus and the former director of Film Studies at the University at Albany and co-authored several entertainment biographies with her late husband and creative partner, Rob Edelman.
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