Past Lives Review: An Unforgettable Film About Fate, Love, And Stories
Past Lives Review: An Unforgettable Movie About Fate, Love, And Stories is now available in its first results.
Pitch: 25 years ago, a young Korean girl named Nora (Greta Lee) befriends Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), a classmate she used to attend parenting days before her family immigrated to Canada. They lived in different countries, and the two lost touch, until 12 years later, when Facebook came along and they reconnected from their homes in New York and Korea, they were close enough in their geographic distance. It will be very difficult to handle emotionally.
So Nora and Hae Sung take a break and carry on with their lives for the next 12 years, with Nora becoming a professional playwright and Arthur (John Magaro), a novelist she met at a writers' retreat, getting married. . So today, Hae Sung decides to go on vacation to New York, where he and Nora can meet face to face for the first time in years... It's a great story, and everyone who sees it knows it.
Get ready to be reminded of the glory days of Skype: It's rare to see a movie like Past Life , a movie that writer/director Celine Song has nailed in absolutely every detail. From the film's tender depiction of what it was like to launch Skype in the early 2000s, to an intimate scene between two married couples pouring a glass of water, every element of the screen is on full display. It feels good , on target. It was chosen to enhance the story being told.
And that's especially important considering a movie where the scope of the drama may seem small at first, but it's all about love, modern relationships, and cultural identity. All of this happens in the microcosm of just a few days, as these three men do their best to understand what it means, as the past collapses into the present.
However, Nora's relationship with Ha Sung is more than just nostalgia: she is surprised that he is " so Korean" because in her eyes his attitude, values, and goals represent the country he left behind. A son with his native Korean name (he chose an English name at his father's suggestion shortly before the family left Korea). But despite their differences, they still have a common bond, which Nora and Hae Sung play very carefully when playing tourists in New York.
It's not Pretty a Ménage à Trois: with such a small play, the chemistry has to be perfect, and thankfully Song has assembled the right trio to support this masterpiece. It's one of those situations where each actor is not only responsible for a particular character, but also for how their character relates to others. Even something as small as John Magaro, who is shorter than Teo Yeo, seems like a great choice.
Past Life (A24)
Lee has been stealing shows on major projects for years (if you've seen Russian Doll , you can hear her voice in your head right now as I type the words "Sweet Birthday Bey-Bey "), and after years of honing her skills on The Morning Show and High Maintenance , this movie is a comedy and it's so much fun to see him express it so deeply.
Nora's relationship with her husband is very different from her relationship with Ha Sung, but their relationship feels authentic and alive, as if these people have known each other for years. And Magaro is strong in a narrative-driven performance: Knowing that he is not the center of the story, he treats Lee and Yu's meeting in a gentle way. Meanwhile, Yoo is incredibly expressive despite Hae Sung's distinctive demeanor, bringing just the right amount of stoic instability to the screen. Hae Sung doesn't really know why he came to see Nora, and let's cut to the chase. We just know that he has to.
Plus, New York City may be one of the most filmed cities around, but cinematographer Shabier Kirchner finds new perspectives on the city's skyline and street life as first-time visitors meet residents from all over the world. life. It's not exactly a love letter to New York, but it makes one want to escape the busy streets and unforgettable views.
The verdict: I can't tell you how many movies, TV shows, and books I've devoured over the years where the main characters are writers, but what makes Past Lives so special is that Nora and Arthur are the authors of the novel. —because they both know the power of the stories they are dealing with in the present. Arthur openly admits that if what happened between Nora and Hae Sung was romantic, he himself was to blame. But he only does this when he's snuggled in bed with his girlfriend, Nora, and after she speaks, he tells her to shut up.
The best movies are little worlds that welcome you into the experiences of your favorite characters and give you everything you need to understand their attitudes and actions. Past Lives does this by painting on a small canvas, but with sensitive and meaningful color, knowing that a great story and a great life are not necessarily the same thing.
Where to watch it : After its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, A24's Past Lives is now in limited release, opening nationwide on Friday, June 23.
Extract:
Review of past lives: an unforgettable film about fate, love and stories
liz shannon miller
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