Past Lives movie storyline. A budding childhood romance between Nora and Hae Sung, classmates at a primary school in Seoul, ends abruptly when Nora’s family emigrates to Canada. Twelve years later, Nora, now a playwriting student in New York, notices that Hae Sung’s been searching social media for her.
They reconnect online, begin talking frequently, and even imagine a reunion. But another dozen years pass before they finally meet over a few fateful days during his visit to New York. Although their lives have changed dramatically, they remain bound by a wistful connection.
An aching, deeply romantic debut feature from playwright Celine Song (Endlings), Past Lives is a love story — indeed, several — told across three moments in time. Song’s artful aesthetic and profound character writing, and the spellbinding performances she draws from Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro (whose fates intertwine) explore love, identity, and “In Yun,” a Korean notion of fate stemming from two people’s connection in a past life. It’s that rarest of works that transports us, impossibly, to someplace deep in our souls, in between a life we’ve longed for and the life we live.
Past Lives (2023)
Directed by: Celine Song
Starring: Greta Lee, Seung Ah Moon, Teo Yoo, Seung Min Yim, John Magaro, Choi Won-young, Min Young Ahn, Jonica T. Gibbs, Emily Cass, Federico Rodriguez, Conrad Schott, Kristen Sieh
Screenplay by: Celine Song
Production Design by: Grace Yun
Cinematography by: Shabier Kirchner
Film Editing by: Keith Fraase
Costume Design by: Katina Danabassis
Set Decoration by: Joanne Ling
Art Direction by: Alan Lampert
Music by: Christopher Bear, Daniel Rossen
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some strong language.
Distributed by: A24 Films
Release Date: January 21, 2023 (Sundance), June 2, 2023 (United States)
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