Note: This article contains spoilers for “Past Lives.”
The movie “Past Lives” (A24, 2023) begins in a bar. An Asian woman sits between two men — one Asian and the other white. A man and woman off-screen ponder the trio’s relationship with one another. Who are these strangers, and what are they doing in this bar? Perhaps the Asian man and woman are a couple, and the white man is their tour guide. Or are they siblings?
Celine Song, the writer and director, takes this scene from her own life when she finds herself sitting between her childhood sweetheart and her husband one night. While the opening scene helps draw in the viewer’s curiosity about these three characters with a little bit of humor, in some ways, it also insinuates that even strangers have their own stories. We all are made up of our own lives — both past and present. But this story, in particular, is about Na Young and Hae Sung, a fictionalized version of Song and her childhood sweetheart, who first met in South Korea as classmates at the age of 12. Na Young’s family plans to emigrate to Canada. Before they leave, Na Young expresses her crush on Hae Sung, and her mother sets up a date for the two. On their last day together, the two pause before going their separate ways — Hae Sung disappearing down the paved path on the left and Na Young taking the stairs on the right. ‘
Twelve years later, Na Young, who now goes by Nora (played by Greta Lee), studies in New York City, while Hae Sung (played by Teo Yoo) still lives in Seoul. By chance, the two reconnect through Facebook and rebuild their friendship through Skype calls, though this is short-lived, as both pursue their own passions and the two lose touch again.
Flash forward once more. After twenty-four years since Nora and Hae Sung met as children, the two reconnected in person in New York City. Nora, now married, lives in the city with her husband Arthur (the white man from the bar, played by John Magaro), while Hae Sung comes to…
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