Past Lives: NZIFF Review

Director Celine Song's personal movie Past Lives will be lauded by many as a masterpiece of meditation and reflection on lives previously gone and also loves never quite seized.

This slow-burning drama centres on a 24 year time period as well as a relationship that at times resembles a much more serious Sleepless in Seattle vibe early on.

Beginning in their childhood days, it's the tale of inseparable classmates in late 90s Seoul, Nayoung and Hae Sung - both are already quite sure of their feelings for one another. 

However, despite an early date seeing them hit it off, Na Young’s family abruptly emigrates to America. 12 years pass before their paths cross again - thanks to the wonder of Skype and Facebook.

To say more about Past Lives is to rob it of its Brief Encounter vibe and its melancholy longing as it explores the Korean concept of "In Yun" a connection felt by some. Yet at the heart of this restrained, sombre and sobering take on life and love is a film that revels in the small moments and lives off the subtlety and nuance of its lead performances.

While the time jumps proffer shorter chances for the child actors to seize their moment, Song's effective in using key interactions and key moments to suggest the bond before Greta Lee and Tae Yoo take over the later-in-life sequences.

Distance and dialect play a large part in proceedings here, with Song choosing to show glimpses of life in both New York and Seoul rather than filling Na Young and Hae Sung's lives apart with mundanities.

This is a film though where the small moments shine - a conversation between Na Young and her husband simmers with veracity, as it teeters toward heartbreak. It's in these moments that Song's eye for calculated shots and sparsely connective dialogue speaks volumes as it invokes truths about immigrant lives and separated connections.