By: Andrew Wing

Past Lives is a 2023 American romantic drama film written and directed by Celine Song in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Greta Lee (Russian Doll, The Morning Show), Teo Yoo (Leto), and John Magaro (The Umbrella Academy, First Cow), and follows a reunion between two childhood friends as they contemplate their relationship and their own lives.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and was released in the United States on June 2, 2023, by A24.

THE GOOD

Coming out of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, there was one film in particular that was getting more praise than any other, and that film was Past Lives. Those who saw it at the festival were already going ahead and saying that it was a lock to get a Best Picture nomination at the next Academy Awards, and with me being a big Oscars guy, needless to say, I was pumped for it! Throw in the fact that I had to wait four-plus weeks after its original release date before it came to a theater in my state, and my hype for this movie was at an all-time high! But did it live up to my lofty expectations? Keep reading to find out!

It most certainly did! Simply put, this movie is amazing and it will without a doubt be one of 2023’s best films! What made Past Lives so good though? Well, there are many things, but first and foremost, Celine Song absolutely crushed it in her feature directorial debut! It is just insane to me that this is her debut film, and it reminds me a lot of Charlotte Wells' directorial debut from last year, Aftersun (read my full review here), as that was also a deeply personal drama distributed by the one and only A24. Unlike Wells though, I do believe that this film is a little bit easier for mainstream audiences to connect with and I strongly believe it will get a Best Picture nomination, and Song may even garner a nomination for Best Director too.

Seriously though, what Song brought to us was such a delicate and rich film that has so many layers to it. The film follows a reunion between two childhood friends as they contemplate their relationship and their own lives, and let me just say that this screenplay is just flawless. What I loved most about it was how Song doesn’t give you an answer, but rather she gives you the space to explore, and you could tell that she wanted viewers to focus on the space between the words. I definitely see Song earning herself a nomination for Best Original Screenplay because of the beautiful story that also serves as a strong immigrant story.

I definitely think Song won the movie, but I cannot say enough good things about the trio of performances we got in Past Lives from Greta Lee and Teo Yoo as the lead characters Nora and Hae Sung respectively, and John Magaro in a supporting role as Arthur, Nora’s husband. Lee and Yoo were just brilliant in this film at conveying the longing and excitement their characters were experiencing every time they were together. Both performances were layered and internal, and the movie itself really relied on the performances to move the story along and they just nailed it. The performance that really blew me away though was John Magaro. I thought he was so good in this as he played the husband who realized the awkwardness of the position he was in, and every scene he was in was just phenomenal, and I’d say he is extremely likely to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and deservingly so!

Lastly, when it comes to Past Lives, it is a movie that is very subtle visually speaking, but nevertheless, I found it to be really beautiful to look at. Song and the cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, who recently won a BAFTA for his work on Steve McQueen’s five-part anthology series Small Axe, worked well together and it was obvious they put a lot of thought into every scene the way it was so perfectly framed. More than that, there were so many great shots of people just walking around the cities and the last shot will certainly stay with you, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Kirchner earned himself his very first Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. Oh and one more thing, the music was done by Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen of the indie rock band Grizzly Bear, and let me just say that they were fantastic and they made a fan out of me!

THE BAD

No surprise here, but I loved this movie! I have zero critiques but I will just say to those thinking about checking this out, which you absolutely should, that the first half of the film can feel pretty slow as the film definitely takes its time building up the characters and the central premise. Trust me though, it really pays off in the second half of the film, and especially in the final third! Also, with the film mainly being about the reconnection of two childhood friends from South Korea, it goes without saying that the film is spoken mostly in Korean, so while you may have to do some reading unless you speak Korean, what you’ll take away from this movie will make it well worth it!

THE VERDICT

Behind a trio of excellent performances and a flawless screenplay from Celine Song in her feature directorial debut, Past Lives is a deeply impactful romantic drama that will either move you to tears or put you on the verge of tears.

This is another gem from A24 that is 100% an awards contender, and I look forward to seeing how the rest of the years play out because A24 just might be going back-to-back when it comes to Best Picture.