Do you remember the time when you fell in love with your first crush?
Memories of crushes have shaped my identity. I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on a special girl before sunrise. At an early age, I fell in love with a girl in elementary school seeking marriage. As beautiful as L.A. artists’ melodies, I knew the moment we met she was meant for me. A bright moonlight in dark, she left a lasting mark. Like the portrait of a lady on fire, she wore attire every boy would admire. I couldn’t help blush when I was in presence of my crush. Since she was the most popular girl in school, I couldn’t ask her out fearing I’d like a fool. My friends would tease me for lacking bravery to ask out a girl I regarded highly. Being an introvert, I didn’t stand chances with a girl that was popular. That said, we immediately took liking to each other. We took interests drawing in a notebook. As sparks began to fly, my hopes were high.
However, our bond suddenly ended in 500 days of Summer. Unforeseeable forces of fate beyond my control led me to separate from soulmates. Immigration became a barrier stopping us from spending time together. When my family moved to Canada, I faced a dilemma. Choices to depart forced me to part with a childhood sweetheart. As my family hurried to leave, I worried I wouldn’t be with a girl I fancied. I became unwell bidding childhood lovers farewell. I couldn’t help but grieve decision to leave. Goodbyes brought tears to eyes. In a rush to immigrate, I didn’t convey feelings to my crush.
Years later, reality is I didn’t recover. After I immigrated, I struggled to become well-adjusted. Life was rarely like a box of chocolates without soulmates. Lost in translation in Toronto, I faced sorrow. In the mood for love, I missed a girl I valued. With a broken heart hard to mend, I gave up finding a girlfriend. Even when we were separated In countries miles apart, I yearned to meet my sweetheart. Infected by parasite, I hoped to reunite with a girl I fell for at first sight. Sadly, these dreams never became reality.
Still, I couldn’t help debate whether I would be with my soulmate if I didn’t immigrate. I asked ‘what-if’ questions about roads not taken. I wondered what life would have had in store if I didn’t abandon a crush I grew to adore. If my family didn’t immigrate, she would be my soulmate. In retrospect, I regret I didn’t reconnect with a girl hard to forget. Longing for past prosperity, I couldn’t envision a future without my companion. Unable to leave past lives behind, she weighed on my mind.
Few movies I’ve ever seen have captured my longing for past lives as powerfully as Celine Song’s “Past Lives”. An intimate, heartbreaking and thought-provoking masterpiece, it captures childhood lovers. Celine Song excels in her directorial debut. Boasting phenomenal production-design, soul-stirring storytelling and powerful performances, it’s undoubtedly the best movie of the year. Ultimately, its message resonates with everyone separating from soulmates by fate.
Amidst New York, “Past Lives” follows childhood companions separating by immigration facing unexpected reunions. Greta Lee embodies Nora, a Korean woman with connection to her childhood friend Hae-Sung (Teo Yoo). Following family’s immigration to Canada, Nora separates from her soulmate. However, years later they face chance encounters when Nora has found marriage partners. Under pressure, Nora wonders if she can leave past lives for prosperous futures.
Celine Song is a newcomer towards childhood lovers. It’s Song’s attempt capturing immigration, but she succeeds. Drawing from personal Asian immigration experiences, Song captures how moving countries separates lovers. Recalling Richad Linklater’s “Before Sunrise”, Song employs extended takes capturing lovers’ goodbyes. Long takes elevate the goodbye scene. During a six-minute shot, cameras follow Nora and Hae-Sung walking together on New York’s streets before departures. Song captures heartbreak in a long take. It brought me to tears reminding me of my farewell towards lovers for many years. Long takes are tricky. As Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” proved, long takes elevate satires. Nevertheless, it works. Alongside cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, Song honors immigration. Song creates theatrical viewing.
If Asian immigrants don’t attract attention, however, there’s reasons to see “Past Lives”. Alongside set-designer Grace Yun, Song employs bars backdrops addressing how fate impacts soulmates that separate. During a bar sequence, Hae-Sung questions Nora whether she would have been his soulmate if fate didn’t motivate her to immigrate. I could relate to Hae-Sung’s reflections making me speculate whether I would be reunited with soulmates if fate didn’t lead me to immigrate. One acknowledges bars recalling Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land”. Bars are tricky. As Sofia Copolla’s “Lost in Translation” demonstrated, bars suit light-hearted situations. Nevertheless, it succeeds. Furthermore, the music is magnificent. Emulating Marc Webb’s “500 Days of Summer”, it captures first love. Through production-design, Song honors childhood lovers.
Another extraordinary “Past Lives” aspect is storytelling. Song’s screenwriting strength is employing minimal dialogue capturing childhood companions’ bonds. In Hollywood, movies rarely address stress affecting childhood lovers’ success. As a case-in-point: Nick Cassavetes’ “The Notebook” offered an unrealistic look at childhood lovers overcoming tensions in a notebook. Thankfully, though, Song avoids these pitfalls. Emulating Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight”, Song uses minimal dialogue showcasing tensions between childhood companions. Silence enhances the scene where Nora and Hae-Sung reunite in a New York Park following 24 years separation. Like Chiron’s silence reuniting with Kevin in restaurants after years, Nora and Hae-Sung lose words in each other’s presence. It reignited memories of being speechless in the presence of my crush. Minimal dialogue is tricky. As Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” illustrated, silence elevate LGBTQ movies. Nevertheless, it succeeds. Through soul-stirring storytelling, Song demonstrates lovers’ connections.
One appreciates astonishing performances.
Greta Lee delivers a breakthrough performance as Nora. In first leading role, Lee pours soul into an Asian-American immigrant separated from lovers by forces beyond her control. It’s challenging portraying an Asian woman facing separation from childhood companions, but Lee succeeds. Evoking Awkwafina in Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell”, she embodies immigrants becoming unwell after bidding companions’ farewell. With captivating expressions, she captures an Asian immigrant’s compassion, longing and resentments. It’s a powerful performance suggesting Lee’s destined stardom.
Teo Yoo’s terrific as a lover in the mood for love demonstrating negative attitudes after losing companions he valued. Evoking Tony Leung in Wong Kar-Wai’s “In the Mood for Love”, Yoo employs expressions capturing childhood companions. Whether he’s staring affectionately at Nora on Skype video-calls following decades-long separation or grieving soul-crushing companions, Yoo successfully employs larger-than-life eyes to demonstrate childhood companions’ conflicted emotions. Yoo encapsulates my mourning of childhood crushes after immigrating. It’s an Oscar-worthy performance.
Lastly, John Magaro’s magnificent. As Nora’s husband, he’s heartbreaking.
Finally, everyone recalling soulmates as delicious as boxes of chocolates will find “Past Lives” easy to appreciate. Evoking Robert Zemeckis’ “Forrest Gump”, it demonstrates how fate causes childhood lovers to separate. It tackles universal themes including fate, identity and depression. Viewers don’t need to be Asian-Americans to appreciate it. Its message will touch anyone experiencing childhood crushes at an early age. Therefore, “Past Lives” is a film everyone will adore.
Fans of arthouse dramas will certainly acknowledge “Past Lives” and so will moviegoers remembering acknowledgements of past lovers. A powerful piece of art, it seeks to mend the fractured hearts of childhood companions torn apart. A poignant portrait of how fate entailing decisions to immigrate stirs childhood lovers seeking acknowledgements to separate, it can motivate people to move on from past lives heartache to crafting institutionalizations futures with soulmates.
As touching as Asian lovers’ goodbyes, it has made me move on years after immigration standing in way of destiny made me lose ties with a girl in my head for long time that I’ll prize by exiting painful past lives for promising future to materialize.
5/5 stars
The Film Buff 
You must be logged in to post a comment.