I finally had a chance to watch the Movie Past Lives. I have read a few positive comments of the movie from friends in my FaceBook page. About 4 weeks ago after reading that the movie has been Oscar nominated for Best Picture and best Original Screen Play, I decided to watch it in Prime Video.
It was a decision I will never regret. I enjoyed the movie very much, that when I woke early this morning, I still remember a few scenes and story line that touches my heart.
One of the scenes I identified with was a conversation of the heroine ( a lady writer- South Korean immigrant) to her Caucasian husband. Her husband asked her if SHE loved him and not marry him because she just want a Green Card. A green card is a permanent resident visa, a pathway to US citizenship.
This is not only one scene that is typical on the life of Asian immigrants that I can personally identify with being a former Asian immigrant myself. The adjustment of Asian immigrants to American society is very close to my heart.
I would not be surprise if it beats Oppenheimer as best picture for this coming Oscar Award next month.
Here's a summary from Wikipedia.
"Past Lives is a 2023 American romantic drama film written and directed by Celine Song in her feature directorial debut. Starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro, it follows two childhood friends over the course of 24 years while they contemplate the nature of their relationship as they grow apart, living different lives. The plot is semi-autobiographical and inspired by real events from Song's life.
Past Lives premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and was released theatrically in the United States on June 2, 2023. The film received largely positive reviews and was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute and received various accolades including five nominations at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama. At the 96th Academy Awards, it received nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 280 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 9.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "A remarkable debut for writer-director Celine Song, Past Lives uses the bonds between its sensitively sketched central characters to support trenchant observations on the human condition." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 94 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Manola Darghis writing for The New York Times compared the film to French romantic cinema complimenting its restraint in the presentation of its main themes stating: "The movie’s modesty — its intimacy, human scale, humble locations and lack of visual oomph — is one of its strengths. The characters live in homes that are pleasant yet ordinary, the kind that you can imagine hanging out in, the kind you want to hang out in.
There are few big, look-at-me details, though you might notice a poster for Jacques Rivette’s 1974 classic Céline and Julie Go Boating in Nora’s father’s home office in Seoul." Writing in The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw was fulsome in his praise of the film comparing it to those of Richard Linklater, Noah Baumbach, and Greta Gerwig. He said of the film: "Past Lives is a glorious date movie, and a movie for every occasion, too. As ever with films like this, there is an auxiliary pleasure in wondering how much of her own past life Song has used. It's a must-see."
Filmmaker Christopher Nolan also praised the film and named it one of his favorites, describing it as "subtle in a beautiful sort of way."
Collider ranked it number 7 on its list of the "20 Best Drama Movies of the 2020s So Far," calling it "a story that could only exist because of modern circumstances, but feels timeless in its approach. How does someone choose between two lovers, one that represents the most fruitful days of her youth, and the other someone she has grown to love as part of her reality? Celine Song examines these critical conversations through the perspective of an immigrant story."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_Lives_(film)
I highly recommend this movie. The length is perfect. If you are an Asian Immigrant yourself, the story will touch your heart. It is a love story, but there is no kissing scene in the movie. There is a cuddling scene but very tame. Again, the movie acting is terrific and its beauty is its simplicity and the emotionally-loaded dialogs between Greta Lee and Teo Yoo in the story.
The movie will be shown at our Cinema on February 18, Sunday at 7PM
As I mentioned above, it is available for viewing at Amazon Prime Video.
