Time: 106 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Offensive language
Cast:
Greta Lee as Nora Moon
Teo Yoo as Hae Sung
John Magaro as Arthur
Director: Celine Song

I have heard about Past Lives for some time, with many declaring it as one of the best movies of the year. I finally got a chance to see it, and while I do have my issues with it, I do think it’s really good.

Past Lives is a bittersweet romantic drama about longing and what ifs. The writing is pretty good; even though you can immediately figure out which direction the movie is going in, it had me engaged enough, and there wasn’t really a dull moment. It moves at a steady pace and is a very calm and patient movie overall. The dialogue is well written and the conversations between the characters felt real. It is quite an introspective film, posing questions and touching on some interesting concepts. Apparently, the plot is semi-autobiographical and inspired by real events from the director’s life, and that comes across on screen with how human and real the characters and dialogue felt.

With that said, by the end of the movie, I admit that I felt that there was something missing. Judging by the reactions of the movie beforehand, I was expecting to be more emotionally affected, and I just wasn’t, despite being engaged throughout. The narrative just didn’t hit as hard as I wanted it to. Looking back at the movie, I think that there was a lot that was underdeveloped. It is a relatively short movie at an hour and 40 minutes, and while it might excel in its simplicity, I think it might’ve been better if it was 30 minutes longer. Despite the characters feeling real and genuine enough, I wish we got to learn more about them. The narrative structure deliberately shows you snapshots of the characters’ lives, and ironically, I think that made it harder to get a grasp on them as people. Even some of the topics and themes touched upon such as Greta Lee’s character’s immigrant experience felt surface level, and not much is done with them. That’s not to say that the writing is bad, but I felt that the movie could’ve gone further.

The acting is especially noteworthy. It comes down to three actors, Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro, and they are great in their parts. Their performances are understated, yet feel so lived in and nuanced, and the chemistry between them is good.

Having watched this movie, you wouldn’t immediately pick up that this is a director’s debut film. Celine Song’s work is amazing, directed carefully, low key and understated, yet very powerful. It is well edited and put together, and the simple yet captivating cinematography is particularly stunning. It captures the cities and locations very well, and makes the most of them. Between that and the score from Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen, it does have a very tender and relaxed vibe.

Despite feeling a little undeveloped, Past Lives is a well written, quiet and intimate romantic drama, with outstanding direction, and great performances. Its worth watching at the very least.