“But the the truth I learned here is, you had to leave because you’re you
And the reason I liked you is because you’re you,
And who you are is someone who leaves
…
To Arthur, you’re someone who stayed”
"The Na Young you remember doesn’t exist here
But that little girl did exist, she’s not sitting here in front of you, but it doesn’t mean she’s not real
Twenty years ago, I left her behind with you”
- Past Lives, 2023
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I've watched this movie twice in 2 days. I couldn't get it out of my head after the first watch.
I manage to find a CAM cut and updated the quotes above, would like to look at another scene that stood out me.
Directors' choice to focus on wide shots which follows the conversation in Nora & Hae Sung's scenes vs. static shots with the Arthur & Hae Sung.
This film asks: do you have any regrets, and how do you make peace with said regrets.
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It's giving me an answer that challenges what I am or what I believe in. I don't think this is losing myself, but a perspective shift that eternity is well... not what it's cracked up to be.
This film reminds me of a more "moving" (in both pun and non-pun) versions of Kogonada's Columbus, and I'm all for it.