Why Past Lives Is The Best Movie Of 2023 

Spoiler Alert! I think at the very end... Hae Sung found closure. He was never rude to Nora during the entire film... but while waiting for the Uber on the final scene, he tells Nora "You are someone who leaves". This is absolutely true as Nora leaves him as children to go to Canada and then she leaves him again when reconnected 12 years after to focus on her career. Those words from Hae Sung broke her (literally) when she (once again) becomes a "crybaby" in the arms of Arthur. Wow... powerful stuff!!!

You're "not even in your twenties yet" and you loved this movie? This is incredibly encouraging to me, how it transcends generations. I never go back a second time to see movies in a theatre, and I'm going back tonight, because I can't get it out of my head. Thank you, and I hope your reaction encourages other people to venture out and see this extraordinary movie.

Watched it after I saw your thumbnail. Thank you. One thing I noticed, Arthur seemed to be looking jealous when Nora said she used to cry all the time in front of Hae Sung. Nora is not a cry baby anymore. however, at the end, Nora is crying again, but this time, Arthur is there for her, not Hae Sung.

Watch the 2018 Indian movie "96", has a similar concept high school sweethearts meet after 22 years. the boy moves out of the city due to family reasons, 22 years later girl comes to town for a school reunion and they spend the whole night just talking.

The length of the video is 11:11, I watched this movie online at 11:11 AM. To anyone who resonated and understand just wow…😊

This movie spoke to me on so many levels. Immigration and lack of a defined culture. Long distance and then an unavailable love story. Questioning life paths. My affection for Korea. Real life stories. Lack of villian characters. Everyone is kind and just trying to live their lives. On a personal note, I once met a woman from a dating app who only on the first date told me she was married and in an open relationship. We connected so well that even though I'm monogamus, I continued seeing her and fell in love. We had to stop seeing each other, because it was hurting her wife too much. I didnt want to blow up her marriage either because she's happy in her life and wouldnt be the person she is today were it not for her wife. Past Lives brought back a lot of those feelings.

If youtube is around in 20 years and you're still doing this channel. This movie would be an awesome rewatch for you. Make note of that somewhere lol!

Emotion and story aside. The pictures are so well constructed. The shots are so tender and beautiful. Actors are marvelous! Hardly believe it's someone's feature film debut.

There are some really beautiful visual representations in almost each and every minute. The picture of the Brooklyn Bridge on the wall of Hae Sungs hotel room depicted in a way that the viewer is surrounded by a mesh of metal wires like its a prison, Hae Sung only shown in distant shots, only seeing him in reflections in mirrors, or a puddle on the ground. Credit to the director for saving us from another dose of heartbreak, Nora and Arthur could have easily been having a baby for example. Imagine Hae Sung having to face that. I havent cried in like 20 years, but i think that might have made me.

It’s so hard seeing two soul mates not be together 🥺. This movie really hit home for me.

Arthur might be the supporting character, but he has the best line - that evil white person that is hindering a destined love - the paraphrase the line…. So good.

I can’t believe you’re not even 20 & understand the themes of this film so deeply I really enjoyed your review..

cant wait for, idk, 10 or 20 or even 30 years from now to watch this movie again and how would it felt

My mom and I went to see this randomly in the theater one evening when we last minute wanted to do something. It was really exciting to go see a movie we had never heard about and we found such a gem.

I watched it and nearly everyone I was sitting around was tearing up by the end of the movie

I think Hae Sung and Nora are the same, Nora went to Seoul before she got married and wanted to meet up. He’s in the stage of his life where he’s probably going to get married soon and so he wanted to see her one last time. What’s different is that Nora didnt get her chance to see him before she got married. If Nora didn’t agree to the meetup, I think Hae Sung would just go on w his life. Nora just had the circumstances for her to have a happy married life. Additionally, i think now this is an exploration of what she lost by immigrating, and her grieving of what could have been. This is her healing her inner child, which is shown in her finally crying hard at the end. I do agree that this was closure for both of them, and this is also shown in the mirroring of Hae Sung looking out the window in the car.

After watching it the first time, all I can think of is to find a time slot where I can be on my own and once for all truly cry my hearts out.

It’s devastating, but so necessary to meet again , even after 24 years to see if there is something there indeed, if you should act on it . I’ve had issues communicating my feelings and I’m here, left on the land of wonder , and it sucks hard

I've just come out of the cinema after watching Past Lives, with my eyes were reddened and sinuses running. A beautiful movie!!! How many of us can look back on loves lost, past lives and emotions torn?? Every one of us!!! Many, many thanks for writing this story and producing this movie!!!! It reminds me of a time twenty-three years ago when I was a at bar with a friend. We got talking to a group of three people - a German guy, an Australian guy and a young woman (around 30 years of age) from the Indian sub-continent who spoke with a beautiful accent. The Aussie guy and her were partners a few years before and, by this time, she was living with the German guy here in Australia. She was fun with a good sense of humour, the German guy was from Germany, and the Aussie guy talkative and welcoming. The German guy left early through frustration at the table service.. Two hours later, we all went back to the Indian woman's and German guy's house for dinner. Lamb chops in coconut sauce, I remember, that the Aussie guy prepared. I slept on their sofa and left early the next morning but, stupidly, I never kept in contact with them. She was also crazy for Vivian, the West Indian cricket batsman. I hope she is doing well and, will maybe, read this someday and drink vino. Good health to you all. Thank you for this movie!!!! Thank you for this movie!!!!

It is a beautiful and honest film that explores the themes of identity, memory, and love. I think you did a great job of explaining how the film uses the concept of reincarnation to show the connections between different characters and cultures. I don’t think your age matters when it comes to appreciating this film, but certainly watching it at a much later stage of my life gave me the opportunity to relate and understand it even better...

It makes me wonder how different the movie would be is we had gotten to follow along with Hae Sung's journey from his perspective...

Beautiful presentation! I loved your commentary. You are not yet 20? Well, you were born with maturity and sensitivity. This film is so beautiful for so many reasons and brings tears to my eyes. I lived in Japan for over 11 years and moved back to California so for me, this movie has so much meaning on various levels and personal experience. Kudos to you and keep going guy! Warmest wishes 🥰

finally a really good realistic love drama. this movie just hits, it's just so mature.

I could not agree with you more. I saw it twice. Cried both times, even as a middle-aged fan of action movies 😂. The music is beautiful and transcendental. One thing I did not notice the first time is how the forces of the world, of nature or of time seem to make Nora move away from her soul mate. She calls him after the first 12 years to tell him they cannot talk anymore and the sun rises beautifully on her through the window. Her future husband arrives at the place she's staying and the wind comes in through the window just as he arrives. It's subtle but present in many scenes. It's a small movie that feels large and cosmic in scope. The two lives we are watching are but fragments of a long, tragic storyline that we can only dream about. It's that philosophical or spiritual feel that somehow adds so much emotional depth to each and every scene.

This is easily your best video yet. The way you're able to analyze these complex emotions these characters are feeling and connect them to the overall themes of the movie is wonderful. This is definitely the best review of I've seen on this movie.

OMG @ReturningSun, just watching / listening to your review of the movie is enough to reduce me to tears, and I have not even watch the movie yet! I feel the bloke's pain and the way he looks at her, you can feel how much he yearns for her. That has to be the saddest thing in the world; the one you so want to have so badly is right in front of you, yet she is unattainable. Imagine the grief in him.

I just finished watching this and the ending is gonna haunt me for days because it's that realistic

the fact that you held such a deep perspective on this "adult" movie when you're "not even in your twenties" is quite impressive ngl !!!! well done, you!

What a beautiful review of the movie ❤

Excellent analysis. ❤

For me, Before sunset from 20 years ago, was one of the best romantic film ever created. Especially #2. But this film is a close second. Simply because I have lived in a multicultural setup my whole life. It was perfect in so many ways but also had some facts as well as perhaps wishful thinking. But I will let that be dealt by people like you content creators. There was allot of symbolism as well. End of the day, it really did what we all really want: A great story" which for some makes it nostalgic being recognized. The actors does such a great job. And Celine's first film?? Really? :-) There are also allot of good Asian made films which also shows this zen approach to film making. Great analysis.!

I've read and listened to many reviews of this movie, which I deeply admire. Yours is the best psychological breakdown of the movie I've come across. Past Lives is also my best picture of the year so far. You're intellectually crisp and professional in your presentation, and that's a pleasure. And not nearly as common on RU-vid as one would like. (Therefore, maybe you'll allow me to suggest that the elongated bye bye at the end of this video is its only flaw. That verbal whatever it was is way, way beneath you. I was shocked. You're thoughtful and classy. I'd urge you to always keep things that way down to the final second.)

Excellent review, and well expressed too -- thank you!

jeez what an amazing review 😭😭😭 i wanna revisit this film after ive gone through a heartbreak to check if it got even better than it is now

Great review!

Beautiful analysis to an incredible film… thank you ❤

I've seen it twice already and want to purchase it. Fabulous.

I felt disappointed that they didn't end up together so I was appeased by your video when you said the Korean guy is now able to have a future 'cuz he has come to terms with moving on from his 'Past Lives'.

greta lee is stunning

Very insightful review…deep! You are very articulate! I’m 74 and couldn’t have perceived and said it better!!! I loved it

Absolutely agree this the film of the year and my pick for best so far this decade. Often I felt the tears coming on and held back and then that ending… floodgates. We have a new voice in cinema.

I agree w/ you. "Past Lives" is the best movie of 2024. It is especially everything a small, indie film should be; everything a debut director should shoot for- don't over reach and strike a balance. Between the performances, writing, photography & editing, "Past Lives" is quite simply pitch perfect. It's obvious A24 is setting it up for major Oscars contention. They're holding off on making avail On Demand/streaming and have a tight reign on piracy.

The 11:11 minutes of the video ❤

That’s crazy, I thought I was the only one who didn’t know they immigrated to Toronto before the States

i loved that you said her husband feels below Hae Sung as man...he's so understands as he said ' i can't compete with that' because they go way back...Hae Song's tie to her is so strong and deep. The husband is such a great man

If you're required to take English or some creative writing of some kind for your college credits, just give your professor this video as proof that you deserve the credits and just let you pass the class, no cap.

This broke me for days😢

I'm 23 and I'm curious what this movie will feel like after I rewatch a few years from now... will I still find it sad? Am I going to understand it differently or just the same way as now but more deeply?

Loved this film; even more so the second time I watched it. Head and shoulders above other films that have approached a similar subject...just on another level. I'm tempted to go see it again, but probably better waiting till it streams one day.

By telling a story about the immigration experience, moons connection with ha sung was also about a connection to herself, her roots, and heritage that she felt fleeting under the pressure to assimilate to us culture that many immigrants face

THE BEST MOVIE OF 2023.

i'm near 50 and just finished watching this with my sister. it was so real and beautiful and felt so natural. I loved the Bar scene and i love ALL the characters in this movie. I am Chinese and live in the UK, so i understand being western, yet having an asian soul. It makes me yearn for a part 2.

What is so impressive here is the power of their relationship going on for decades, and that, even as movie ends, you realize they will never spend a day without thinking of each other.

SPOILERS. It's not that simple. That past should just stay in the past. Sometimes its impossible because it was not lived through, it was never present. The key to the ending of this movie is their silent stare at the end ( probably the most intense silent stare I've ever seen in film) and her crying after he leaves. What they have is something they can never have. And yet it exists between them. And this longing will probably never go away. They just will learn to live with it. That what it means to be an adult.

im barely 18 and i cant seem to comprehend the kind of effect this movie has had on me..maybe i cant fully understand the sheer weight this movie might hold just yet but as a filmmaker myself this movie inspires me a big ton.

Good video.

The ending made me feel like they will see each other again.

My breaking point was when Hae Sung said to Nora that for him, she is the one who leaves and for Arthur she is the one who stays 💔

Arthur was insecure but he was still able to be mature 👏👏👏

Leaving tabs until I can watch it.

où peut-on voir ce film? merci pour vos réponses

any more movie like this recommendations? I love to cry lmao

I believe this film is more about memory than anyhting else. Small nod to Michel Gondry also - Past Lives in a way, is the antithesis to Eternal Sunshine. Films like this don't come along often, I'm truly excited to see what Song puts out next.

Great recap. ps. Your voice in constantly clipping. maybe turn down the mic gain next time.

I love how people of all ages like this movie for slightly different reasons and have slightly different take-aways from it. Everyone has a different past. People with more life experience and people with less yet still appreciate this movie. It's definitely my favorite of 2023.

I think Past Lives and All of Us Are Strangers were the two finest films of 2023. More even than that, they are among the best films the 21st century.

I struggled to fully appreciate this film. With respect to Celine Song and the brilliant cast, it just did not grab me. But you had a great perspective on this film's premise and I can look at this film differently on my next rewatch.

Well, I wrote a long text here and it all is lost in WWW!? Past Lives is America's MOST IMPORTANT MOVIE since Moonlight!

What Hit me the Most I think was the fact that at the Start of the Film Nora was crying and hae song said to her that he was always her second option and that he never cried about that and in the end nora cries again and hae sung does not and he is okay with their fate while she is not

Great take on the movie, I did disagree on the dialogue point. I found much of the conversation surface level and not as strong as I wanted it to be. I think the actors did a great job but sometimes they just weren’t given the best lines.

I'm wondering why she said sorry at the end. Is it because she put Arthur through that or is it sorry for grieving for a what-if life?

La vida poco a poco te lleva donde debes estar. 10 años atras me gustaba un chico en la secundaria pero nunca le dije que me gustaba. Hoy 10 años despues es el padre de mi hijo. El amor existe solo hay que dejar que toque nuestra puerta. Y esa es la del alma. Creer y transformar. El amor nunca siempre es de una persona. Vivan y crean, tengan fe, a sus deseos mas profundos. ❤ buenas noches.

It is like an Indian movie 96

Richard.

Fawk bro what a good movie Fawkkkkk…

it is realistic because you can love many people, that being married to a person doesn't always mean they are the only person for you, that you cannot also love someone else even if it means an ex, or someone you meet at a party ...i watched Celine Song talk about her movie...and just loved she trusts her feelings and the actors chemistry.

I think at the very end... Hae Sung found closure. He was never rude to Nora during the entire film... but while waiting for the Uber on the final scene, he tells Nora "You are someone who leaves". This is absolutely true as Nora leaves him as children to go to Canada and then she leaves him again when reconnected 12 years after to focus on her career. Those words from Hae Sung broke her (literally) when she (once again) becomes a "crybaby in the arms of Arthur. Wow... powerful stuff!!!

Your opinion devalues the movie. The message is much more ambiguous than "OK we dealt with our past now we go on living as if nothing".

You are not in your twenties yet? You are incredibly perceptive and mature well beyond your age.

could've put spoiler in the title?

Saying that you are probably too young for this film was the wisest thing I heard in a movie review for quite some time. But still, nice job. I only saw a few other movies from last year, and I hope I find a better one than Past Lives but it's a very tall order.

Nora was always ambitious, competitive...but it's her husband that wrote a book...There's another move that makes me really sad - and touches me on a whole other level The Remains of the Day...about 2 people who love each other, one free and so full of life, the other more reserved and focused on duty. Sometimes being career minded really can be a detrimental to all other things in life...esp pursuing your true love...makes me wonder what if Nora went over to visit Hae Sung 12 years what would have happened. it was like her career goals seemed more important than him....yet in reality she's just an ordinary writer (from what i can tell from the movie). if you learn anything from this movie...that is to follow your heart...and grab what you care about now.

I see a lot of (new) movies each year and make, like a 'real' white, 56 year old heterosexual male, every year since 1996 (winner: Breaking The Waves) my movies' top 10 (yes, I know it's childish, WE men are). Since 2018 (Lady Bird by Greta Gerwig), every year there was a female director making my year's favorite: in 2019 (Portrait De La Jeune Fille En Feu by Céline Sciamma, probably THE most important movie of the 21st Century (until now, it is), number 2 by the way The Farewell (Lulu Wang), number 3 Dirty God (Sacha Polak, I am Dutch, but you all should see this great movie)), 2020 (Babyteeth by Shannon Murphy, number 2 Proxima, number 3 Little Women, number 4 Never Rarely Sometimes Always, number 5 The Perfect Candidate by Haifaa al-Mansour, number 6 The Assistant, number 7 House Of Hummingbird), 2021 (Promising Young Woman by Emerald Fennell, number 2 Une Monde) and 2022 (L'évenement by Audrey Diwan). I guess movies with a female perspective, with themes maybe concerning women more, are for me as a frequent watcher sort of a new thing, fresh, contemporary in the best possible way. There's no man telling us all 'bout women, these great women tell there own stories. Like in 2023! My favorite last year was Sarah Polley's Women Talking, because, like the filmed Primo Facie the year before (number 3, but a male directing (well, there's no harm in that)), as a man, a white man, as a human being I learned something about this world of ours. And the acting by all women was really, really great. Last year was full of truly heartfelt personal movies, like my number 2, Celine Songs Past Lives, my number 5 Les Enfants Des Autres by Rebecca Zlotowksi and number 9, Aftersun by Charlotte Wells. (By the way, it also was the year 3 Iranian movies made my list (of 12 titles).) For years now I think women actors (worldwide) are playing better than males, maybe because of fewer opportunities. So when they get one, they take it! Greta seized her chance, and see for yourself. Really magnificent, as by the way are both male roles (and also the Korean children), the script of course, the direction, camera work, the editing, score, the chosen music. It all makes Past Lives THE most important American movie since my 2017's number 1, Moonlight. That is no guarantee for any of the Oscars, because as everyone knows, Hollywood celebrates Hollywood so in the end it's all about budgets and, even more important, box offices. And my God, Barbie, Oppenheimer and Killers Of The Flower Moon (congratulations Lily Gladstone for your Golden Globe! In Certain Women (my number 4 in 2017) I thought you were really playing fantastic already!) have had big budgets (and are good movies I must say). But Past Lives will be the movie we all will remember. Thank you Celine, thank you Greta!

Arthur was such a poor dude, after all these years they are married and lived in NYC, Nora went to the Stature of Liberty with Hae Sung but never with Arthur, man.....

His name isn't Hey 😂

Highly subjective... but well said

korean really invaded the american scene...........................an american movie with korean subtitles and language.............

What is missing is a real character. The lady who we seem to be rooting for comes off indifferent, cold and uncaring of the men. This is definitely not the best movie of the year. It’s just a movie that’s not bad.

I just watched the film. It definitely is NOT the best movies of 2023.

Is it just me but, this movie was overrated tbh.

Spoiler alert: It’s not the best movie of 2023.

A terrible film with bad acting, boring drama and no resolution. A24 have done it again. 👍🏻

Valiant effort but overrated film. My wife and I were terribly disappointed in it. 4/10 at best. There’s not a single scene in it I’d ever want to rewatch. Don’t waste your time, kids. Watch IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE instead if you want to see a masterpiece on unconsummated love.

This movie was rubbish. Poorly directed, baseless shots, inconsistent cinematography and not enough plot.

It just is❤️‍🩹 Too many wonderful themes to point out 💙 UNIVERSAL MOVIE. The whole world was touched. Every one felt that it had relevance irrespective of their culture… Genius ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️