Succinct Cinema: Past Lives
Issue 2
One of my favorite pastimes is cycling. I especially enjoy cycling in the summer at night. I bike in gorgeous scenery with lots of natural beauty. I get such ecstatic joy from being outdoors gliding on a bicycle. I’m instantly transported to my 12-year-old self, footloose and fancy free rolling down a hill. There is so much of ourselves that we can lose in adulthood: those dreams you had of grand adventures, those bonds you made so easily with peers, even culture or language as one evolves into their adult form. Once you get to mid-life you finally understand what “hindsight is 20/20” actually means.
Past Lives (2023) written and directed by Canadian playwright and burgeoning auteur Celine Song, tells the story of two childhood friends struggling to maintain an on-again-off-again intimate friendship over the course of 24 years. Starting in South Korea when they are children, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) become fast friends, spending every waking moment they can together until Nora abruptly moves abroad with her family. The mates you make in childhood are of an usual sort, perhaps because as children we are likely our most authentic selves and so friendships made in youth resonate with something primal and deeply familiar.
Past Lives tells a gentle story about connection. Who are we bonded to in life? How long does it last? When do we let go? Can we let go? Nora and Hae mostly evolve in parallel universes and yet a thread of connection keeps them in this very intimate discourse throughout their lives as mirrors for the other--or perhaps windows into alternate worlds of being. Who are we without the intimate relationships that help us make sense of who we are? What if we made a different choice about where we lived or who we settled down with?
When Past Lives was released, this gentle film reminded all who viewed it about our lives and the relationships that shape us. It reminds you of who you were and questions who you’re becoming. In a world of explosive blockbusters that often do little for our interior life, Past Lives steered by Celine Song’s clear singular vision and steady hand is a refreshing invitation to be with ourselves.
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