Past Lives: Fated to Only Pass You By
by Sydney Reyes
In-yun. Fate.
It can be such a funny thing when something as divine as fate itself appears to be mistaken. When that one person you thought would find their way back to you never returned. They’ve changed — grown up in an environment completely different from yours. Time passes, passes and passes. You then realize their old self was left under your mercy the moment they boarded the plane that took them away from you. That fate wasn’t wrong, you just desperately hoped it was different.
Celine Song's Past Lives (2023), the film that took the world by (emotional) storm, makes big wake-up calls. The film centers on former childhood best friends Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae-sung (Teo Yoo) who get separated as kids when Nora moves away to Canada from their homeland of South Korea. The two then reunite in New York as completely different people, several years later. In a haze of nostalgia, the two face confusion over what they mean to each other and whether they are still the kids they were back then. Past Lives wonderfully explores human emotions, relationships and change through their story.
Celine Song and Shabier Kirchner capture the essence of New York City. A juxtaposition is established: New York’s infamous hustle is toned down to bring out its gentle side. Wonderful shots of the Hudson River, plants swaying in the wind, and the New York City skyline are all captured calmly. Scenes like this, along with the low hum of the dialogue make for a peaceful atmosphere as the two catch up. Seeing the rest of New York in between shots of the characters sends a deep message: that life goes on despite the monumental reunion.
What made me love film is its ability to answer the question of what makes us human. It brings our unseen feelings to life in a way that only this type of media can. Past Lives evokes a very human grief in us about what could have been. It is human to love in diverse forms, and it is human to change and learn to let go no matter how badly you wish to hold on.
The notion of living past lives serves as a comfort. Maybe it’s the idea that we could be something else in another universe — a consoling outlook that lets us believe we get to experience everything we’ve ever wanted, with people we don’t have anymore. Life’s little gimmick of taking us to places we never expected is precisely the beauty of it. Past Lives provides solace and reminds us that it’s okay to be sad over the lives we won’t live, but should not be blinded by them.
The story profoundly answers the question of how we should deal with what’s not meant for us. It is a moving, gut-wrenching voyage through the complexities of fate, change and love.
