Shabier Kirchner

If you’ve read anything about Past Lives, you’ve likely heard about the love story at the film’s core or the Korean fate-oriented concept of In-Yun that is woven throughout the tale. The film, which premiered at Sundance and competed in Berlin in 2023, is indeed a quietly powerful story of friendship, love and the winding paths our lives can take. But it is also a story about immigration, of straddling two cultures, and a meditation on the rewards and losses of making more than one country home.

Beginning in Seoul, South Korea, Na Young, later known as Nora, and Hae Sung are young classmates. She comes in second to him on a math test and cries about it. Hae Sung shows the sensitivity that will define his character, and they part. Nora’s artist mother announces they will emigrate to Toronto, stating, “If you leave something behind, you gain something too.” The remainder of this deeply moving story illustrates exactly that, a reality that resonates with everyone who reflects on life. Director Celine Song renders this with profound impact devoid of sentimentality.