About five years ago, at the end of the summer, I went on a blind date. We both worked, so we met after midnight at an old lookout I knew. We sat on a blanket and watched headlights dance across the highway. It was a simple date, nothing overly complicated or romantic. I never expected much to come from this date, and in reality, nothing really did.

She was leaving to the other side of the country for school in two days, and I was leaving the country entirely. At the time, however, we connected in a really intense way. As if the universe had shoved us together as quickly as it could. Although it made little sense to try, we began the opening act of a relationship.

We met the next night, at three in the morning, in a mall parking lot. With hands interlocked in the back seat of my car, we cursed the world for not pushing us together sooner. Then, she left, and I never saw her again. We tried to FaceTime and text, but the foundation of our relationship was too sandy to make it more than a few weeks.

It was me who decided it was ultimately best to end things altogether. I felt that I couldn’t truly be in this new country if part of me was trying to remain in the old one. I sat at my desk, by my bunk bed, and called her for the last time. It wasn’t an emotional conversation as we weren’t really dating. It made sense to end things. Still, I think we both felt like something we wished we could hold onto slipped away.

Soon after, I reconnected with one of my favorite friends. I had known and loved her for years. She knew all my secrets and I knew hers. Wonderfully, we both happened to be living in the same place for the first time in our lives. We started hanging out more and more, and our friendship quickly blossomed into a relationship. We are now married, and I really love it. I love that we choose each other and get to live our lives as a team. I know I’m somewhere I belong.

Elegance in Simplicity

I think we all have stories like this. We all have someone we used to be, and the person we used to be that person with. We all, at some point, grow and shed old versions of ourselves along the way. While they aren’t us anymore, those versions of us are real and important. They deserve love and appreciation for guiding us to where and who we are meant to be. In essence, these versions sacrifice themselves, often painfully, in order for us to move forward.

Celine Song’s “Past Lives” elegantly and gently captures these complex feelings. It shows both the sadness and pain of letting something from your past go and the joy in finding who you are meant to be.

Every part of the film is delicate and beautiful. Nothing is extravagant. No setting or conversation is one that is unfamiliar. The cinematography, characters and score are all incredibly simple. A perfect balance is achieved in all facets of filmmaking to allow each second of the movie to feel like a warm bowl of soup. Wonderfully immersive, the film melts around you, as though you are watching through an open window instead of a screen. To achieve this level of craft in your first feature film is nothing short of astounding.

Go See It, Today

The plot of “Past Lives” follows a decade-spanning romance between Nora Moon (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). To say more would be robbing you of an unforgettable movie-going experience. Each time I’ve seen the film, I wanted to watch it again the next day. The story is timeless and manages to feel entirely fresh while entirely familiar.

Allowing yourself to be engulfed by “Past Lives” is a gift you will not regret giving. It allows for both the mourning of who you were and gratitude for who you’ve become. Furthermore, it allows you to appreciate just who you might be next. It’s a movie for rainy days, first dates, 100th dates and everything in between. Go see it. Thank me later.

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