Keswick Film Club - Past Lives

Synopsis

A love story across two decades and two continents, which might make you cry with joy or sadness...Na Young leaves Korea (and her friend Hae Sung) with her parents as a young girl, bound for Canada. She rekindles the relationship on Skype, 12 years later, now called Nora, but life gets in the way. Another 12 years go by, she is living in New York and married to Arthur when Hae Sung comes to visit...will they reconnect, or will life and Arthur win out?

This is not a conventional love triangle—there are no baddies here, just a woman with many 'what-ifs' and two distinct lives. "'Past Lives' feels so deliciously restrained that it makes even quiet dramas seem histrionic. And yet it's a wide emotional field that gives its characters room to breathe. For all its bittersweet ness, it's also a deeply satisfying experience that deals with intimate subjects in global terms. Or maybe the other way around? Either way, if 'Past Lives' isn't 2023's best film, we're in for an incredible year of cinema" - John Wenzel, Denver Post.

Greta Lee, who plays Nora is made for the part, being a Korean who has been living in the States for most of her life; the film made her go through similar emotions. "Lee and her co-star Teo Yoo are electric together, conveying an excess of feelings both unspoken and not fully understood through their graceful exchange of looks and dialogue" - Trace Sauveur, Austin Chronicle.

Could we agree with John Wenzel, or will another incredible film be our favourite?