Past Lives – 2023 Movie Review
- Can you control which people come into your life and who will stay?
- Are your dreams more important than your real life?
- And what’s the role of fate in your life?
- Past Lives is a 2023 movie produced by A24 that brings poetry, dreams and the Korean concept of “In-Yun” into our lives.
Winner of ‘Best Indie Movie’ at the 2023 Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Awards, the film will touch your soul, and you will feel the need to review your existence. The point is: What’s the role of fate or destiny in your choices? We believe Past Lives is one of the best movies of 2023.
The Story
Hae Sung and Na Young are two children living in South Korea. Their relationship is pure, genuine and a perfect portrait of what love should be: enjoying time together, being supportive, even when it’s not our best day, and being able to communicate even without words.
One day, Na Young’s family decided to move to the United States. A new life starts for them. Hae Sung and Na Young separate each other. Na Young and her family have dreams to achieve. After several years, the two meet again, and a new chapter of their lives starts.
- Will they achieve their goals?
- Will Hue and Na be back together restarting their relationship?
We can recommend the movie, you will learn the rest.
The Trailer
Movie Details
| Release Date | September 2023 |
| Country | United States – South Korea |
| Genre | Drama – Romance |
| Duration | 1 hour and 45 minutes |
| Director | Celine Song |
| Actors | Greta Lee (Nora, Na) – Teo Yoo (Hae Sung) |
| Streaming | The film is currently available for rent on these platforms. |
Review – (Spoiler Alert)
A24 rarely disappoint. As we mentioned, Past Lives is a great film with well-crafted cinematography and photography.
The In-Yun and the role of fate in our lives.
While the movie focuses on the “In-Yun” concept of multiple lives and the layers needed to find the right person, we believe that the film offers a metaphor. You don’t need reincarnation to start a new life. For instance, in her previous life, she was Na Young; while in her new existence she became Nora.
The change is part of what she needs to achieve her goal to win a Nobel prize and the United States will offer much more to her. But a new life begins also for Hue, who doesn’t change his name, but his life adapting to days without his friend and following his dreams to become an engineer and learn Mandarin.
Expectations vs. reality. Is the choice yours or is fate?
The point is are these choices of our characters or is just fate? How much can we control in the decisions we make?
For sure, it’s difficult to leave the genuine and beautiful dreams of when we were young. It’s not a coincidence that previously they smiled, now they are worried.
But this is also the contrast between the two worlds we live. There is one made of expectations (the Nobel, the Pulitzer) and there is one made of real life (the one between Hue and Na).
We need to become someone else, Na became Nora, and we need to build stories in our minds to keep going; but by doing like this, we lose the real part of life. When we realise it, it may be too late. As for Nora who, after realising she married the wrong person and didn’t achieve her goals, cries revealing the fragility of our souls and dreams.
Was it worth leaving Korea?
One thing is true. She lived her dream. Was it successful? We can’t say, as we don’t know how would their future together be.
Those are past lives that meet each other in the present, exploring the hypothetical future together, regrets and old dreams. It’s a story for another story, in another time, for dreamers.
Our final rating is 8 out of 10.
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