Review: Celine Song's 'Past Lives' is an exquisite romantic drama

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Past Lives
4.5 out of 5 Stars
Director: Celine Song
Writer: Celine Song
Starring: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rated: PG-13 for some strong language

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) – Studio Synopsis: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

Review: Once upon a distant memory, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung were on course to be lifelong sweethearts. When Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea, Nora and Hae Sung are separated. Years later, Nora now a young adult, uses social media to find Hae Sung. Still separated by an ocean, the pair embark on a long-distance relationship built on the innocent fantasies of their youth.

Life can be heartbreaking. There are no guarantees. And still, the heart and the magic of “what might have been” lingers. What Nora and Hae Sung never had becomes all that they’ve ever wanted. It will be at least a year before Nora is able to travel back to South Korea. Hae Sung’s studies make traveling to New York City in the near future impossible.

I knew nothing of “Past Lives” beyond that it was an A24 film. It had been a busy few weeks and my head was stuffed with pollen and allergies. I had a thousand excuses. I could skip “Past Lives” and the world would continue to spin. I went anyway, you never know when the film you’ve never thought about might suddenly become your favorite romantic drama of the year. That’s exactly what “Past Lives” is: A gorgeous, heartfelt, and honest exploration of romance, reality, and the wide space that often separates the two.

Director and writer Celine Song has crafted a remarkable film that is filled with honesty, longing, and heartbreak. It may not look like a Wong Kar-wai film, but the emotional center of “Past Lives” is very much in line with the Hong Kong director’s beloved films. To want. To almost have.

Greta Lee and Teo Yoo are great as the Nora and Hae Sung, but the real heartache comes from Song’s writing and John Magaro’s performance as Arthur. It’s just exquisite.