Past Lives Film Review: Celine Song's Simple Debut Full Of Exploration

Teo Yoo - Greta Lee (Courtsusy of A24)

Past Lives is one of the most awaited films. Produced by A24 with CJE&M, this film is directed by Celine Song which marks her debut work.

The promotion of this film continued to intensify when Past Lives began to be shown at a number of film festivals. Not to mention, Yoo Teo's name, which became increasingly popular after stealing public attention through the Love to Hate You series which was released earlier this year.

Past Lives films seem to be a fresh romance in the midst of horror films mushrooming in theaters. Her sweet narrative, her simple story, was able to leave a deep impression on the audience.

Past Lives tells the story of Nora (Greta Lee), who grows up and grows up in New York finding the fact that Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), her little friend in South Korea, is looking for her on Facebook. Hae Sung searches for Nora with her old name, Na Young.

Nora, who wants to reminisce, then contacts Hae Sung and the two are connected via video call. After some time, Nora said that she had to stop talking to Hae Sung in line with the lives of the two of them continuing.

20 years passed, Nora and Hae Sung grew up with their respective lives. Then, Hae Sung went to New York and met Nora. Hae Sung then found out that Nora was married to Arthur (John Magalo).

Nora also invited Hae Sung and Arthur to eat together. The three of them were involved in conversations about their relationship and their upcoming dreams.

The story is simple, the approach is made like reminding us of Before Sunrise (1995) where this film emphasizes dialogue between the two characters. There is nothing luxurious, only a conversation between two people who have been close friends.

Interestingly, there is a kind of emotion that is built slowly so that the audience does not feel bored. Hae Sung and Nora with different characters feel the upheaval that is felt close to the audience, ranging from immigration, adapting to a new place, or feeling social media as a liaison for distant friends.

When watching this film go on, the audience got carried away with Hae Sung and Nora's conversations. Celine as a screenwriter is also like understanding that this conversation is the most essential thing of the whole film.

But of all this, the chemistry of his character is a supporter of how this film works. Teo Yoo and Greta Lee are able to speak with their eyes. John Magaro as a third person also showed his acting skills.

Naturally, all three build good chemistry. This film is increasingly presented with its beautiful visual color and a row of scoring that builds emotions from each scene.

In addition, they also inserted South Korean culture, a simple word that also contains deep meaning.

The narrative is simple but Past Lives contains emotional exploration that spilled over to make this romance film standout among romance films released this year. Anyone who ever had feelings, definitely couldn't help but notice Hae Sung and Nora talking - questioning if their choice wasn't like this.

Past Lives can be watched in several Indonesian cinema networks.