Past Lives

Past Lives has been receiving awards-buzz since it was released last June, garnering praise for its understated authenticity and subtle, prescient commentary on relationships in the global world. The fact that it has taken me a solid week to actually get motivated to write about this film belies this praise. Because here’s what: I found the film’s deliberate pace ponderous and, dare I say, boring? For me, nothing about the film was transcendent: boy meets girl, girl moves away, boy and girl, now man and woman, have a brief reunion and then they return to their adult lives. We’re meant to buy into the Korean concept of “inyeon,” the idea that anyone we cross paths with in this life is someone that we’ve had a connection to in any number of past lives. The characters talk about “inyeon” several times, but the film never dives in to the metaphysics of this abstraction. Ultimately, my take away was that becoming Westernized, as Nora (played by Greta Lee) does after her family emigrates from Korea, disrupts any connection to tradition and creates career-driven personas who value self over the folklore of conformity. [And here’s one last nit-picky annoyance: everyone in this movie walks in what feels like slow motion - I kept thinking, “Pick up the pace! You are in New York. Someone is going to push you out of the way!”] Despite the fact that Oscar nominations are probably forthcoming, Past Lives is a pass for me.