Berlinale 2023: Past Lives
Berlinale 2023“I miss you.” Three very simple words that carry with them so much history and weight behind them. Three words that are so hard to say, for they lay bare the true feelings of the one that says them first. When Hae Sung (Yoo Teo) repeats this disarmingly simple sentence to childhood sweetheart Nora (Greta Lee) during a Skype call 12 years after they last saw each other, it is a moment of truth that makes it clear just how long he has thought of her. Past Lives is a romantic drama that is all about this pain that comes with admitting the longing for a loved one.
Calling Celine Song’s direction here “confident” would be an understatement: for a feature debut, she showcases immense skill in using performances, camera movements, and editing to explore a relationship over the span of 24 years. In that sense, Past Lives is an antithesis to Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy: what if two people were meant for each other, but a series of coincidences made it impossible for that to happen?
It would have been so easy for Song to embrace the more predictable aspects of such stories, from profound gestures of love to emotional, loud break-ups. Instead, she shows restraint from beginning to end, which proves to be more devastating than if it were louder. The tight and refreshingly mature screenplay is aided by a trio of standout performances: Greta Lee’s bold exterior shows cracks of sadness and desire brimming inside of her, while Yoo Teo’s soft-spoken demeanor and constant hesitance to say certain things to avoid compromising himself is an incredibly subtle and nuanced performance.
The chemistry between the two actors is electric, especially when they see each other again through the Internet. Everything that they want to say to each other is clearly visible through their eyes, a reminder that they are indeed windows to the soul. John Magaro also does a wonderful job of adding some levity to the second part, and both his performance and the way the character is written are delightfully self-aware and go against the expectations of this type of narrative.
Overall, Past Lives is bound to become a new favorite of melancholic dreamers and lovers separated by destiny. It is a thoughtful look at the nature of love and the cruel twists of fate, making for an overwhelming experience for anyone who still loves someone who is far gone and who will never come back. Past Lives will go on to become a decade-defining romance for the Internet generation, where saying “I miss you” is just as hard as admitting “I love you”.