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SYNOPSIS: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are pulled apart when Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love and the choices that make a life.

REVIEW: I don’t generally enjoy romance novels or movies; they often feel cheesy and inauthentic, and their happy endings often feel unearned. But the trailer for Past Lives by Celine Song looked like something entirely different. The trailer caught my attention with its heartfelt note of nostalgia, destiny and lost love. This felt like it could be something I might create in my own melancholic daydreams. So, I added Past Lives to my list of things to watch, and once it was available to borrow from the library, I immediately added my name to the waitlist.

I’m happy to tell you that Past Lives lived up to all of my expectations and then some. I can’t remember the last time I felt so connected to a piece of art as I was when watching Past Lives. I don’t have the same life experiences as an immigrant, like these characters, the actors or the writer/director. But I know what it feels like to love, to leave love behind and to reconnect with your past life. There is a heart inside this film, and after watching the behind-the-scenes featurette, I learned the heartbeat came from the writer. This wasn’t just a film to her. This was her story.

I don’t want to spoil the major moments of the story, but I will say the movie is nicely divided into three distinct parts. If you want to extend the emotions of the movie a bit more and really marinate in the longing and nostalgia, I recommend watching each of these acts on separate evenings. I did this, and it was a perfect viewing experience for me. And speaking of evenings, to me, this film is most certainly meant to be watched on a quiet evening. It has a very “late-night energy” baked into its DNA. And if you’re a wine drinker, pour yourself a glass.

I’ll close off my mini-review by just saying a little about Greta Lee’s acting. Personally, I don’t think you can find a more authentic performance than Greta Lee in her portrayal of Nora. The whole cast was outstanding and well deserving of all praise. But Greta stood out as the highlight to me. Every pause, smile, laugh, tear and line she speaks is delivered with the subtlety and confidence of a true master. She has a natural chemistry with her co-male leads, and she deftly shows different parts of herself with each. She is strong and secure with her husband (John Magaro), and she’s playful and carefree when she’s with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). And in the final act of the movie, when they’re all together, you can see the character try to balance everything.

I don’t want to say much more than that because I want you to get a copy of this movie and watch it for yourself, and I would hate if I ruined anything for you. Or worse, if I accidentally misrepresented any of the beauty from the film. So I’ll just leave you with one final thing. If this sounds like a movie you’ll enjoy, you should also check out the soundtrack. It’s one of those perfect soundtracks that exactly partners with the mood of the film without overpowering any of the scenes. Sadly, we don’t own the soundtrack at Fountaindale, but you can listen to it for free on YouTube.