Have you ever sat at a restaurant and see some folks across the way from you and think "I wonder what their story is"?
Such is the case with the South Korean film PAST LIVES which starts with 3 people sitting at the bar - 2 of them Korean, 1 of them American - and then flips back to the beginning...24 years ago.
Written and Directed by Celine Song (who is Oscar Nominated for Best Original Screenplay while the movie is nominated for BEST FILM), PAST LIVES tells the tale of Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) who develop a crush on each other when they were young. Nora, then, moves to North America and the 2 reconnect 12 years later over the Internet and then, 12 years after that when Hae Sung comes to visit a now married Nora in NYC.
It is a simply written and directed film by Song, who lets the emotions of the moments in the film sink in - and quite a few of the them land. Song strips the artifice out of both Lee's and Yoo's performances so you are watching some real people...with real reactions...interact on screen.
And...this works (mostly), except for when it matters the most - in the 2nd half of the film when Nora and Hae Sung meet, for they meet after the audience realizes that Nora is in a very happy marriage to Arthur (John Magaro). So the actions of Nora seem selfish and un-thinking of Arthur (and THEIR relationship) when she meets up and explores her feelings with Hae Sung.
The Oscar for MOST UNDERSTANDING SPOUSE needs to go to Arthur, for he lets Nora ignore him for most of the 2nd half of the film to explore her feelings for Hae Sung and is very (too) understanding of her need to look into that. It's supposed to be a romantic gesture by Arthur and a romantic moment for Nora, but it just feels...wrong. Which might say more about me then them, but there you have it.
It will be interesting to see what Song (in her Major Motion Picture debut) follows up with, but if Private Lives is any indicator, expect more exploration of raw human emotions - which aren't explored enough in the movies these days.
Letter Grade: B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Such is the case with the South Korean film PAST LIVES which starts with 3 people sitting at the bar - 2 of them Korean, 1 of them American - and then flips back to the beginning...24 years ago.
Written and Directed by Celine Song (who is Oscar Nominated for Best Original Screenplay while the movie is nominated for BEST FILM), PAST LIVES tells the tale of Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) who develop a crush on each other when they were young. Nora, then, moves to North America and the 2 reconnect 12 years later over the Internet and then, 12 years after that when Hae Sung comes to visit a now married Nora in NYC.
It is a simply written and directed film by Song, who lets the emotions of the moments in the film sink in - and quite a few of the them land. Song strips the artifice out of both Lee's and Yoo's performances so you are watching some real people...with real reactions...interact on screen.
And...this works (mostly), except for when it matters the most - in the 2nd half of the film when Nora and Hae Sung meet, for they meet after the audience realizes that Nora is in a very happy marriage to Arthur (John Magaro). So the actions of Nora seem selfish and un-thinking of Arthur (and THEIR relationship) when she meets up and explores her feelings with Hae Sung.
The Oscar for MOST UNDERSTANDING SPOUSE needs to go to Arthur, for he lets Nora ignore him for most of the 2nd half of the film to explore her feelings for Hae Sung and is very (too) understanding of her need to look into that. It's supposed to be a romantic gesture by Arthur and a romantic moment for Nora, but it just feels...wrong. Which might say more about me then them, but there you have it.
It will be interesting to see what Song (in her Major Motion Picture debut) follows up with, but if Private Lives is any indicator, expect more exploration of raw human emotions - which aren't explored enough in the movies these days.
Letter Grade: B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)