The guy gets the girl…
99% of movies operate on a logic , a framework that has been built over 100+ years. stories take the same paths over and over, some are more traveled than others. Good guy wins in the end. Seen that one before?
The more a narrative pathway has been traveled, the stronger the pull towards that shape is, towards that specific narrative arcs conclusion. And the more visceral the reaction is when a well traveled path takes an unexpected turn. Guy gets girl, girl ends up with guy. Remember La La Land? Remember how good that ending was and how much it hurt? That’s a path we’ve seen 100s and 100s of times — the veer at the end not so much. In the Mood for Love is another,, and now..
Past Lives begins with a favorite game of mine — who are those people to each other? Examining strangers and trying to figure out what they’re doing together and what they *are* to each other. {Is that a first date? omg it is and he has two phones and a battery pack and a charger so that he can manage all his fantasy football teams on the go . . . . (((this happened last time i played the game, poor girl)))}
There’s three people: Nora played by Greta Lee, Hae Sung played by Teo Yoo and Arthur played by John Magaro.
Our story begins with Nora and Hae Sung, but Nora went by Na Young then. They grew up together in Korea — we’re given little tiny vignettes, snippets of life as they get closer and closer. It’s all extremely well paced, just enough to get an idea across then we move on. She’s ultra competitive and ambitious, he’s understanding and more laid back. They go on a “date”, things are going great — then her family has to move to America. Nora and Hae Sung say goodbye …
Many years later they reconnect via Skype (lol the sounds made me have flashbacks to getting DDoSed out of CSGO matches after trash talking opponents…..just me?)
he tried finding her and she looks him up and suddenly they’ve rekindled things …until she cuts off contact. she needs to stay focused she’s ambitious . poor guy, i get it but man
Not long after Nora falls in love — Arthur’s a fellow writer, smart guy, ambitious charming. it works. 12 years go by.
Hae Sung finally visits new york. they meet —
You can feel the pull the entire time. Childhood sweethearts, impossible odds. The married couple, Nora and Arthur are both writers. They understand completely that it would be better if Nora and Hae Sung end up together in the end. You root for it but in the way a good person roots for the opposing teams quarterback to be out of the game — you want him to catch a flu or something you dont want to see the guy get carried off on a stretcher. You can’t really root for a seemingly happy marriage to end in a wreck. but you feel the pull.
and arthur does too. he sniffs out that Hae Sung is visiting NYC just to see her. {men are really good at understanding other mens intentions when it comes to women, we can spot the moves from very far away}
he knows deep down that he cant be what this Korean guy is to her,,,not just because of the childhood memories , but because he is Korean. he has a connection with her to this whole other world, a language, a place, a time, that he does not have access to despite significant attempts on his part to bridge the gap. Hae Sung is handsome and really masculine in a Korean way (her words),,you can feel the insecurity boiling up in Arthur, can you blame him? Poor guy.
Hae Sung can see this life that she’s built up and worked so hard for — even though he is something special to Nora, to his ex girlfriend he’s too ordinary. Doesn’t make enough money, isn’t interesting enough…marriage is off the table for now.
We go back to the 3 of them at the bar where the other people were trying to figure out their relation to each other. It’s a long scene, really well shot and edited by Shabier Kirchner and Keith Fraase. The framing tells the whole story. Arthur gets cut out, suddenly it’s just the two of them. They talk about him even though he’s been boxed out of the conversation. His koreans not that good. Now he’s third wheeling. Poor guy.
They laugh and it’s like they never were apart,….talking about: “inyeon. It means providence or fate. But it’s specifically about relationships between people.” people crossing paths over and over again in different lives, different versions of themselves. in the end he has to catch an uber.
all that’s left is wondering, dreaming even? of what their past and future lives are up to. they keep crossing paths, it’s fate that they’ll be together. but not in this life.
in true romance movie logic she’d look at arthur on the steps and he’d be tearing up but tell her to go, chase him. she’d give him a hug and run after the uber and they’d live happily ever after…but Past Lives operates on life logic, things are more uneven, less satisfying. Arthur’s a really good guy and the two of them are genuinely happy together for the most part. it doesn’t really make sense for her to run off with Hae Sung, part of her wants to but many parts of her are satisfied and content with what she has. in the end she’s left crying. crying at what could’ve been, at what she lost, crying for crying, and at what she’s brought to her husband. Poor girl.
written and directed by celine song, it’s a sharp, heartwarming + heartbreaking story . well done.
sometimes the right ending isn’t the one we want . . .
and sometimes a sad ending is really a happy ending, it just needs a little more time
if you want to see the most succinct distillation of the shape of stories check out this by the ever brilliant Kurt Vonnegut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ
