Past Lives is a prank show. It lures you in with a slow start, sneaking in a subconscious connection to the characters before a houdini style punching you in the stomach of emotions without preparing you for any of it. The film spans 24 years of Nora’s life as she immigrates from Korea to Canada. We however, don’t care about that, because just as quick as they move, she’s a full adult, starting her life in New York. We follow this journey as she navigates reliving her childhood innocence and facing her actual, literal place in the world.
The concepts in the film are similar to Only Yesterday and made me feel the same warm and comforting existential dread that my life means nothing and will never be as fulfilling as the innocent bliss I lived in as a child.
The catalyst for the film comes as onlookers attempt to decipher the complexities of the relationship between Nora, Hae Sung and Arthur while they sit at a New York bar. They land on the profound conclusion of “I don’t know” as the shot cuts and we jump back 24 years to Nora and Hae Sung’s youth. They sit together in school, sit together outside of school, just general close proximity sitting. They share a quiet, intimate bond in the way that childhood “relationships” are. Nora is sure they’re going to get married one day as her mother is doing paperwork for their move to Canada.
Their final goodbye is minimal with the word “bye” being the only farewell. This short sentiment shows their emotional innocence as they don’t seem to really grasp the finality of their goodbye. As we’re so early on in the story, we feel a similar detachment from the relationship, not understanding the impact the move is going to have on either character.
The next significant stage of the story is when we meet Nora in her New York city apartment, on a call with her mum white they look up old friends who are back in Korea, seeing where they’re at, all these years later. They stumble on Hae Sung who had left a comment on Facebook, looking to reconnect with Nora. She reaches back out and they setup a Skype call.
The theme of being realistic flows throughout this idyllic film as Nora lives in a tiny apartment, with terrible quality video and internet connection. The events of the film might seem quite romantic in their ideas but the basis for the setting is so grounded in how things actually work. They persevere through the poor quality connection to form a strong one of their own. We watch a montage of them non stop talking to one another, about everything. They discuss Nora going to a writers retreat and Hae Sung going to learn Mandarin. This is the turning point for their relationship. They no longer have the time or stable internet connection to sustain a relationship over Skype.
There is an obvious connection between the internet connection and their connection in this section as we slowly get more and more frozen screens and “hello” callouts to the unresponsive screen. As the connection fades, Nora builds a new one with Arthur, a fellow writer on the retreat.
We cut another 12 years to Nora and Arthur returning to the US from Canada. They explain to the TSA officer that they are married and therefore, the context has been given to us.
The final act of the movie has all some of the most emotionally mature and heart wrenching conversations I have heard in a film. There is a maturity from all characters and yet a childlike innocence when Nora and Hae Sung are together.
“In Yun” is a phrase used a lot in the film, as Nora initially describes both to us and Arthur for the first time. I think the reliance on this word to describe what the relationship everyone in this film has is perfect. It feels a little bit like a catch all word for a special or unique relationship to someone without having to label it something as surface level as acquaintances or something as deep as soul mates.
Tech time! This is one of the most beautifully composed and well thought out films I have seen recently. There is so much said with the camera and so much realisation of the camera’s impact to a story. There is nothing flashy or over the top about the shots, no elaborate tracking shots or perfectly symmetrical environments, just goodness going on. They know when to use each shot to convey a message. Nora and Hae Sung have quite a few extended shots where there is little dialogue and no camera movement. The work has been done in the story for us to know that this silence is comfortable and there’s no awkward waiting for someone to say something to break the tension. Its two people enjoying being in each others company. Focus is also used quite impactfully as it choses a shallow depth of field for a lot of the scenes, focusing on one of the characters in the scene, isolating them from the environment, to show them being in their own head, disconnected from the moment their in.
For me, the music was complementary of the film, usually not being noticeable, just twinkling away in the background, observing the action like the rest of us. Not much to say on it.
In addition to the camera trusting the story, the story trusts the audience. We are not guided through a lot of the plot, things happen and when time passes, we are told enough to know what is going on without being spoon-fed the information.
To me, the strongest example of this is the relationship that Nora has with her mother. It is not told to us that they are close, we don’t watch them hug or express their love for each other. They simply have a casual conversation about people from their past. They’re comfortable with each other. It feels as if we have been let into a world and not had one created just for us. Its something that exists already, and we’re just watching it.
To conclude the rambly review, good film, good time, goodbye. I would revisit this film, I think the time I spent there was enjoyable, not only in the actual story, but to appreciate the craft of the writing, cinematography and other things that people do to make movies. I’m going to rewatch Only Yesterday so I can feel a little bit better about life first though.
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