Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023): USA, South Korea
Reviewed by Anna Henningsen at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
My 3 Favorite Stills from Past Lives and Why:
#1:
I love this shot because this is the kind of tableau that could secretly be two photographs or two different places; there is an invisible line slightly off center towards the left. This shot with Nora/Si Young heading up the stairs as Hae Sung continues on level ground is symbolic of their separate next steps in life, with Nora/Si Young on the brink of emigrating to the US leaving Hae Sung behind in Korea. I think it’s interesting that Nora/Si Young is facing him and he is choosing not to look back at her.
#2:
This shot is arguably the most important still of the entire film- from scenes that act as bookends to the film. The scene is first shown at the start of the film, when two strangers are heard through voice over discussing what this situation could be. Could the two Asians be siblings, and the white man to her left is her partner? The two Asians are together with their white friend? Celine Song disclosed during the writer’s panel at SBIFF that she was in this very situation herself, and her thoughts on what the set up appeared to be to others in the bar were the thoughts that sparked her idea for Past Lives.
#3:
The reason behind my love for this shot is simple because the context of this shot is simple- to demonstrate the pure nature of love between children. When Hae Sung and Si Young/Nora are playing around and spending time together as children, their lives are uncomplicated. Those scenes act as foils for the scenes to follow when Hae Sung and Si Young/Nora’s relationship develops while their lives become vastly differentiated as they age.
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You’re currently reading “Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023): USA, South Korea,” an entry on Student Film Reviews
- Published:
- 02.27.24 / 10am
- Category:
- Creative, Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2024
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