Past Lives (2023) Movie Review

Past Lives – Movie Review

Director: Celine Song

Writer: Celine Song (Screenplay)

Cast

Greta Lee (Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse)
Teo Yoo (Decision to Leave)
John Magaro (Overlord)
Moon Seung-ah (Scattered Night)
Leem Seung-min

Plot: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrested apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny.

Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Past Lives starts when Na Young (Seung-ah) and Hae Sung (Seung-Min) grow up together in Korea. The two are extremely close, doing everything together. However, Nora’s family decides to emigrate from Korea, causing the friendship to fall apart.

After many years have passed and the two have lived different lives, they look to reconnect as adults. Nora (Lee) is in New York, while Hae Sung (Yoo) is still back in Korea. This sees them becoming close again, despite dealing with the time differences in their lives. Although they are left to make difficult decisions about their futures and what they want from their lives. 12 years later, they find themselves at another crossroads in life and wonder what could have been.

Verdict on Past Lives

Past Lives is a romantic drama following two school friends who saw their lives going in different directions. After they were separated, they lived different lives, but over the years they got to catch up with each. All led to them wondering what could have been if they hadn’t been split up as children.

This is a story about wondering what might have been in life. It shows that you could have met someone but couldn’t find a way to be together. Despite living your own life, you will always wondering what could have been. It is a moving story that anyone who has ever wondered what if can relate too. This leaves you with a lasting shot that will linger with you for days, weeks or months.

Final Thoughts –Past Lives is a moving story about what could have been.