One of the best films of 2023 was already certain in January: Past Lives – In Another Life. The film was shown to an audience for the first time at the Sundance Film Festival. The reactions were euphoric. A month later, in February, the impressive directorial debut of playwright Celine Song conquered the Berlinale.
After Past Lives has been shown at numerous festivals in recent months, the celebrated love drama is finally coming to German cinemas. If you are looking for the Barbenheimer next must-see movie then you should definitely check out the wonderful Past Lives.
One of the best movies of the year, Past Lives tells a heartbreaking story
The story of Past Lives revolves around Nora (Greta Lee) and her family emigrated from South Korea is when she was a child. She found a new home in Toronto before moving to New York as a grown woman. She had to leave behind her childhood friend Hae Sung (Teo Yoo).
You can watch the trailer for Past Lives here:
Past Lives – Trailer (German) HD
In the meantime, Nora has built her own life and got married. She lives with her husband Arthur (John Magaro) in a cozy apartment in New York. As they stumbles upon Hae Sung’s Facebook profilemany memories of her past return and turn her life upside down.
Already in the first scene, Celine Song brings the three central characters of her film together, but leaves us unclear in what relationship they are right next to each other. After that, we dive into Nora’s story in three big chapters and get to know her at different points in her life.
Now in cinemas: Past Lives brings us very close to the emotional worlds of its characters
People who are attracted to each other meet at long intervals and think about their mutual feelings: This episodic storytelling is a bit reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. But Past Lives bows to completely different works from film history.
When I saw the film at the Berlinale earlier this year, I thought of a mix between Sleepless in Seattle and David Lean’s Encounters. Song continues the film so sensitive in scenethat in the end there is no wrong and right There are more choices for the characters to make.
Past Lives has been running since August 17, 2023 in German cinemas. Based on initial forecasts, the film could play an important role in the upcoming award season and even be nominated for one or two Oscars.
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