Past Lives

Although the initial festival reviews overhyped Past Lives and the film does have a few deaf spots, it is a very well-written relationship drama that feels fresh and authentic. This is also due to the use of exteriors – it's been a long time since we've had a film that uses the scenery and landmarks of New York so well in its sober and romantic overtones. Is it that hard? [KVIFF 2023] (30.08.2023)

Shabier Kirchner's engrossing camera work gracefully takes in Asia, New York, and a cottage in Montauk, but I was really only drawn to those places – not to the script, even for a moment. I like stories about sensible young couples with hellishly imperfect timing, but I've seen a few of those already. That's why comparisons to, say, Richard Linklater's films strike me as a joke and a determined effort to fit into a subgenre. I've seen couples in live-action and animated form that grabbed my heart in a minute more intensely than Nora and Hae-Sung managed in the sum total of all the footage. Past Lives gets everything right on paper, but nothing more that that jumps out at you other than a story exercise executed to a tee. Besides, of the characters, "the third wheel" is the one who wins me over with ease, which probably isn't right either. Unlike the endless and repeated silence and indecision of the central duo, at least he brings self-reflection and a decent amount of determination to the situation. (10.03.2024)

Romantic waiting drama in a very chamber-like form, Korean-style. It would take very little for it to be pure suffering, but here again studio A24 pulled out its teeth and produced a piece that kept me on edge until the end. While I've seen Greta Lee diligently in the Morning Show, she completely armed me here, and I'm already looking forward to her next non-vocal roles (she's currently very active in animations). (28.07.2024)

There’s nothing like going into a film with high expectations and having them effortlessly met. Past Lives is a subtle romantic drama that thrives on its simplicity, avoiding Hollywood's typical tricks and gimmicks to enhance an already captivating story. It simply and beautifully tells the tale of two people who found each other in childhood, only to be separated and have their shared happiness turn into longing. Their lives unfold and evolve in completely different environments on opposite sides of the globe. The narrative is natural, straightforward, and melancholic, free of embellishments, but filled with genuine emotions that had me in tears by the final moment. (04.07.2023)

Watching Past Lives is like staying in a meticulously tidy, clinically clean apartment in which one never begins to feel at home. It’s a film that lets you know exactly where it wants to take you emotionally, and its strategy – from the music to the shooting – is so clear and seamless that I couldn’t get into the game that it plays. Part of the problem is that Celine Song leaves the most dramatically satisfying content until the last third, so everything that comes before it is just a neat overture. The improbable love triangle in Past Lives is thus rather more sweetly illustrative instead of cutting to the marrow. Sure, a New York romance with a Korean twist is appealing. I understand the hype, but this film fades away too quickly in this lifetime, let alone the past ones. Return to Seoul, which has a similar concept, appealed to me more. (03.07.2023)