Jane Austen may have been a master, but she can’t hold a candle to Korean love stories. In-Yun, Fate. Only in Korea could such an idea be so poetic, so hopeful, and so tragic.
Past Lives could be seen as a modern, Korean version of Austen’s Persuasion. Two young children who fell in love, as only young children can. Na-Young immigrates to America at the age of 12 leaving Hae-Sung in Korea. Though she maintains the Korean language by talking with her mother, Na-Young begins to develop into a young American woman, while Hae-Sung grows into a wholey Korean man.
Reunited multiple times throughout time. Still harboring the love for each other deep in their hearts, timing was never on their side.
Celine Song does a masterful job of creating the tension and longing and energy between the two. The gentle rocking back and forth on the subway train. The wind blowing Na-Young towards Hae-Sung. The long, silent stares between them. Every background person one half of a couple..
This film is the ultimate question of “what if.” What if you hadn’t left? What if you had come to America? What if I wasn’t married? Who might we be to each other?
“In-Yun is basically about how you can’t control who walks into your life…and who stays in your life.”