I’m not afraid to admit that I have a romantic side. A great love story on the big screen can be one of the most emotionally powerful viewing experiences.
I was reminded of that back in 2023 when I saw Past Lives and was immediately struck by the relationship at its center and one of the more incredible endings I’ve seen in a movie in some time. Because of that, I think Past Lives has to be considered for the best movie love stories of the 21st century.
You don’t have to just take my word for it though, because Past Lives has been added to Netflix in the US today [Thursday, May 1], so anyone with a subscription can watch the movie and judge for themselves.
The debut movie from Celine Song, Past Lives is a decade-spanning story about the relationship between Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). After bonding as children in Korea, Nora and Hae Sung lose touch after Nora’s family moves to North America. However, they reconnect as adults and eventually meet up in person in New York City, where Nora lives with her husband (John Magaro). But are Nora and Hae Sung connected by something more?
My Past Lives review gave the movie five-stars and named it my No. 3 best movie of 2023 (only behind Oppenheimer and The Holdovers, which is no ding in my books), it is “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes and it was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars. Those are all great qualifications, but other movies have similar credentials, and I’m not making grand statements about them being landmarks of 21st century cinema. But there’s something more to it, and it honestly may come down to the Past Lives ending.
I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie, but what I will say is that it features an incredible tracking shot and an amazing performance by Lee that may require tissues if you are someone who is known to cry during movies as it is utterly, achingly beautiful.
There are only a couple of other movies where the love story is the central thing released in the last 25 years that I’d in the same league as Past Lives. One is Wong Kar-Wai’s brilliant In the Mood for Love about neighbors who bond while their partners have extramarital affairs (currently streaming on Max in the US, on-demand in the UK), and the other is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet movie about a couple trying erase each other from their memories, written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry (also streaming on Max in the US and on-demand in the UK).
Perhaps the quality that I admire most about all of these movies is that they aren’t simple love stories. Those can be their own fun watches, but Past Lives, like the other movies mentioned above, look at different complexities of love. In the case of Past Lives, the idea of fate, or “in yun,” the Korean word used in the movie. It is those mixes of larger ideas with a great script, acting and directing that make Past Lives something truly special.
And there’s a chance that Celine Song could have something else special for us soon, as she has a new movie coming out this summer, Materialists, starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal.
Materialists will play exclusively in movie theaters starting June 13, but you can watch Past Lives now on Netflix in the US (it's available to rent from various sites in the UK).
And if you need any final convincing on Past Lives, check out the trailer for the movie directly below.
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