Past Lives (2023)

I recalled almost nothing about this title except that it was nominated for Best Picture. It turns out to have had only one other Oscar nod, for Best Original Screenplay, so no one seriously expected it to win. I would have given priority to Poor Things, but that wasn't an option from United.

Thanks to two time jumps, there is a clear three-act structure. First Na Young (then played by Seung Ah Moon) and Hae Sung (then played by Seung Min Yim) are preteen classmates and fierce academic rivals. Just as they start to grow fond of each other, Na moves to Toronto for a more promising future and changes her name to Nora Moon. They rediscover each other on Facebook 12 years later (now played by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo), having many video calls until Nora takes an indefinite hiatus to focus on work. Another 12 years later, in what I take to be 2023, they finally meet in RL again, specifically in New York City, where Nora lives with husband Arthur (John Magaro). This marriage is stable, but Nora and Hae can't help thinking about what could have been -- and, from a Buddhist perspective, what may have been in previous incarnations.

That paragraph gives away pretty much the whole story. What can I say? Sorry, but it's that simple, and saying less feels like a disservice.

This being my third viewing on the flight, I was glad for a good deal of subtitles, because they let me take the earbuds out for a while. Of course, there's a lot more English later on, especially in scenes with Arthur, tho he speaks some Korean. I could no longer be confident that there wouldn't be English in the next second. Overall, the dialog might be half and half.

Not that there are any truly quotable lines in either language at this level of realism. I'm not at all surprised that the story is loosely based on the writer's life; Nora even aspires to win a Pulitzer. Unfortunately, her ambition did nothing to stave off my boredom.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have watched this immediately after two action comedies. It would have functioned better as an interlude than as an anticlimax. If you want to watch at all, make sure you're not already tired.