Past Lives

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

This was our Valentine's romance movie this year, and of course it was amazing. It's the exact kind of romance movie that I love and it gets to me every time. (For the record, Jess only "liked" it, but she's wrong and chooses inferior valentines movies).

So in this one, two kids in Korea were very obviously made for each other, but circumstances seperate them and it's a long time until they reconnect. When they do, the chemistry is still there, but being together is not so simple. I love these stories of real adults having to make hard decisions about love - especially when it feels deeper than just sexual attraction as this one does.

It's super artfully made, this being the debut film from Celine Song. I loved it. The two leads are fantastic, and the chemistry feels super palpable. It's hard not to root for them. It's slow and drawn out and authentic and man, I just felt for those two.

I had tiny little nitpicks, like not loving a third character, and also being weirded out with how the married couple talks, but none of those criticisms take much away from the final score. I loved this movie, and I've realized I don't give enough movies 10s on my first watch, but I think this one will stand the test of time. I was affected, and have thought about it often since watching. It's kinda right in there with La La Land, Before Sunrise, and Eternal Sunshine, though maybe in that tier just below for me, like Casablanca and Before Sunset (both of which feel very similar to this one). All of these movies have similar themes, and hey, I like what I like.