Past Lives | Film Review

 

Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) are childhood best friends who are torn apart when Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later they reunite and are forced to confront what their relationship means.

I really wanted to see this when it first came out, but I missed it at the cinema. So I'm really glad I've finally seen it!

I loved this film.

I liked it instantly upon seeing the opening scene. Not only is the dialogue voicing what the audience is also thinking, but there's a really interesting contrast between seeing the characters across the bar, and then being directly transported into their childhoods.

Speaking of which, the child actors were fantastic. The younger versions of the characters were played by Seung Ah Moon and Seung Min Yim and they were both amazing. I really wanted to see more of them!

But the acting all around is great, and the main actors are also great as these characters. The acting across the board feels really real and authentic.

The characters are so lovely to watch, and because of this, you root for them immediately.

I loved the story - seeing the characters at different times in their lives, the ways they've changed and the ways they've stayed the same is really powerful. It lets the audience feel like they have watched them grow. It allows us to feel connected to them.

The writing of amazing. The dialogue is really powerful throughout, but coupled with the actual events of the film, everything feels really poignant.

I got more invested than I expected, and I also didn't expect it it to be so emotional. It was so much sadder than I expected.

Overall, this is a really beautiful, bittersweet film. It was so well made and I'd recommend it to anyone. I'm also really glad it got a couple of Oscar nominations, though it should definitely have more!

8/10