Past Lives (2023) Dir: Celine Song
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Celine Song's directorial debut, from A24, will go down as one of the best romance films ever put to screen. It's a poignant, multilingual story that addresses themes of love, destiny, reconnection, and even divine providence. It also summits the topic of immigration; what it creates and what it leaves behind.
The story is nostalgic and beautiful in a way that few films have ever accomplished. It has a delicacy and an atmosphere to it that evoked in me a feeling of immense anemoia. The sensitivity and subtlety of it was extremely thought-provoking.
Gentle pacing met patient editing in something that reminded me of the slow cinema genre. There were pauses, moments of silence, lingering shots - all things that very effectively allowed the audience to contemplate and absorb each scene they had witnessed.
The soundtrack is beautiful, and, in combination with the truly stunning cinematography of Shabier Kirchner, through use of intelligent and subtle camerawork, created an almost dreamlike and sentimental experience for the audience.
The greatest strengths of the film, of which there were many, came in the form of the performances of the two lead actors, as well as the writing of their characters. Both felt like real, three-dimensional people, rather than characters on a screen.
Greta Lee was complex, level-headed, evolving and contemplative in a marvellous and grounded way. Teo Yoo was layered and incredibly nuanced in his body language. I was stunned by the sincerity achieved by these two actors.
Of the supporting cast, John Magaro deserves special credit for a role that, without his wonderful performance, could easily have been misunderstood and unlikeable. I would also like to give credit to the young duo of Moon Seung-a and Yim Seung-min, for their wonderful performances at the start of the film.
Overall, this piece of cinema is an experience that can only be described as a beautiful and profound gut punch. It is a film rich in quality, at every level, and does everything masterfully. It is a film I will return to time and time again if I can, it just feels so special.
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