You don’t need a close-up to showcase the emotional rollercoaster of a relationship.
There is a strange delightful feeling I had while watching rookie filmmaker Celine Song’s Past Lives. When I wasn’t crying or feeling second-hand jealousy of Nora’s (Great Lee) husband, Arthur (John Magaro), I wanted to sit with the longing between Nora and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo).
Past Lives is a film that contemplates love and destiny between Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends who were torn apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. After a short fling in their 20s, Hae Sung goes to New York to visit Nora for a weekend.
There are many fantastic elements about this story and Song’s strong visual language, but I can’t stop thinking about how Song creates intimacy throughout the film. Rather than taking the Normal People approach to intimacy, Song sits in that feeling by never cutting away from wide shots of Nora and Hae Sung together.
Author: Alyssa Miller
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
