Past Lives is a romance film that was released during the summer last year. I remember first coming across it while browsing the schedule on the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) website – there is a building dedicated to TIFF in downtown Toronto, which, during off-season, shows films that you don’t typically see at your local theatre. I didn’t think much of it at the time, especially since I did not recognize the director or any of the cast members. However, the film has been getting a lot of attention lately, especially on the awards circuit. I finally got to see it a few days ago and would love to write about it a little bit here. Let’s dig in.
(Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13238346/mediaviewer/rm1070082817/?ref_=tt_ov_i)
Before you read any further, kindly be advised that the below writing can serve as a spoiler – so, proceed at your own peril.
So, the plot of the film is as follows: the movie centres around two main characters, namely Nora and Hae Sung. They meet during childhood in Seoul, South Korea, but separate when Nora immigrates to Canada – Toronto, no less – with her family. 12 years pass, and they re-connect via Facebook, but their online back-and-forth relationship does not last. Another 12 years pass, and Hae Sung finally pays Nora a visit to New York City – Nora has since moved to the United States and is married. The film ends after Nora spends time with Hae Sung, who also meets Nora’s husband.
(Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/01/movies/past-lives-review.html)
The first point I will make is that the film resonated with me very much just by virtue of its settings. Having lived in Seoul, Toronto, and New York, all the cities showcased in the film were a delight for me to revisit on the screen. Also, Hae Sung’s experiences mirrored mine – his several drinking sessions with his Korean buddies as well as a scene depicting his military service made me smile, prompting me to reminisce about my escapades and my army experience. Furthermore, Hae Sung’s visit to New York reminded me of my recent trip to Korea, which was my first time in 4 years – I visited last fall. During my trip, I re-connected with a female friend of mine, who I’ve known for over 10 years. So, even if the film ended up being one of those cookie-cutter romantic comedies, I still would have enjoyed it for its superficial qualities.
I will submit that one of the themes running throughout this film is closure. Since meeting as kids, the two protagonists have always yearned to find closure to their relationship, whether that looks like re-connecting, dating, or getting married. This means the meeting in New York constitutes the climax of their story. On one hand, I find this search for closure slightly puzzling, since I don’t believe love was what both felt when they met and spent time as kids. But it could have been love or curiosity that drove them to continue the search. I appreciate that the closure between Nora and Hae Sung wasn’t them getting together romantically, because that would have been a bit unrealistic and too idealistic.
Another notion that is explored in detail in the movie is fate. Nora explains the Korean term ‘in-yun’ during the film, which refers to fate, connection, or relationship between people. What was memorable for me was the final dialogue between Nora and Hae Sung before they part at the end of the movie, where Hae Sung tells Nora that they met again and are now departing again because of ‘in-yun.’ Again, I was impressed by how fate here doesn’t mean they get together in a fairytale-like way. This also brought a lot of realism to the story, since reality is quite far from a fairytale.
Personally, I do not believe in fate. I believe that people come into the world abruptly and constantly try to make sense of things and make their own way. I also believe that coincidences and happenstances often spark relationships between people, which may last or dissipate with the passage of time. I have had similar experiences where I got to re-connect with old friends or acquaintances and believe that they materialized due to a combination of luck and willpower.
In closing, Past Lives was a good watch in my book – the familiar settings were a pleasure, and it prompted me to reflect on fate as well as the various relationships that I had and have. So, if you can spare around 2 hours of your life, I would recommend using it to watch this piece of art.