Past Lives
Originally published on social media on March 8th, 2024
What a wonderful film to talk about on #InternationalWomensDay as this film was written, produced, and directed by a woman named Celine Song. According to her page on IMDB, this is the first film she has ever written, produced, or directed, and she is already nominated for an Oscar. I love that, and trust me, she earned it with this film! Her only other credit on IMDB is being a staff writer of a TV show. What an inspiring story she brings with her to this year’s Oscars!
I really enjoyed Past Lives. You can call it an international love story, or perhaps an immigrant love story, but I call it a realistic romance. It’s funny, a realistic romance is how I initially described it before I found out that this film is a semi-autobiographical telling of Celine Song’s life…no wonder it feels so realistic, it actually happened! Hopefully that fact will make you appreciate it even more!
Two kids are best friends and have crushes on each other. One immigrates to America, and the other stays in Korea. They grow up and through the internet meet again. Through this story, you gain perspective on what it means to be American vs. Korean American vs. Korean, and how the perception of where someone culturally fits into those categories can depend on the eye of the beholder. I think it is that difference of cultural perception is key to this movie, and why it is such an important film because it dives into something deeper than is commonly discussed. With that, what does it look like to fall in love with someone who has a similar, but different cultural identity, and what are some of the sociological impacts on that relationship?
Every relationship looks different, but I appreciate the way this film explored how complicated yet simple love is in today’s world. With that, this story was beautiful because love is beautiful, and when love can prevail in the midst of complicated circumstances, and it is even more incredible.
This story is her own, and I am so grateful she shared it. It makes me so glad that she found the actors she did for this movie, because they were wonderful and treated the roles with respect and dignity.