This romatic drama streaming on Netflix has been described as “heartbreaking” by fans who have tuned in.
The film’s synopsis reads: “Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love and the choices that make a life.” Celine Song both wrote and directed the film, which features English and Korean language throughout. The A24 production stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro.
Past Lives has received universial acclaim since its release in 2023 and was also nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Rotten Tomatoes critics award Past Lives with a high 95% and the consensus reads: “A remarkable debut for writer-director Celine Song, Past Lives uses the bonds between its sensitively sketched central characters to support trenchant observations on the human condition.”
A critic wrote: “It is a heartbreaking film that is so masterfully made and profoundly sincere that you want to stay in its world regardless of the emotional cost.”
One Google reviewer awarded the film five out of five stars and said: “This film broke my heart in the best way possible.”
“Celine Song’s directorial debut, Past Lives, is a poignant and beautifully paced film that takes audiences on an emotional journey spanning continents and decades,” another added.
Daniel Scheinert, who co-directed A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once alongside his partner Daniel Kwan, praised the film.
He said: “It’s remarkable, the way she [Celine Song] pushed past the story of ‘picking mister right’ and the story of ‘fighting to win the girl’ and somehow brought her audience to this painfully relatable heartbreak on the other side of those stories.”
Past Lives is available to stream on Netflix.