Past Lives

Wow. For a director, Celine Song, just coming out of the gate, this is quite an impressive film. The lead actress, Greta Lee, fit the role like a soft leather glove, which speaks volumes, both for her talent, and for Song's casting. Lee's Hollywood Critics Association Best Actress award is well-deserved. Song wrote an excellent screenplay, and her direction turned it into a stunning film. Kudos to A24 for taking a chance on her. I presume they are happy with the outcome. It's rather interestingly paced in a Buddhist or Asian kind of way - slow, meditative, and more is shown than is said. Overall, it's not a perfect film, but it's close. This isn't precisely a coming-of-age movie, but the plot revolves around that (perhaps even more difficult,) developing period between the ages of 20 and mid-30s. I've held a long-standing belief that our life chapters change every seven years. You know: there are seven chakras, seven days in a week, the Seven Sisters (Pleiades), or whichever mystical seven you'd like. Over the course of three of these "theoretical" chapters, this movie focuses on two relationships in the protagonist's life, from roughly twenty-one (7*3) to approximately forty-two (7*6). She was married at about the time of a chapter shift (7*5), as if to validate my weird belief. In my world, it all makes sense. This movie is certainly somewhat autobiographical, even by Song's own admission. It will be added to my Directors About Themselves list. I can't wait to see Celine's next project!