Past Lives Director Deconstructs Her Best Picture Nominee and That Fantastic Ending

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Past Lives
For playwright-turned-writer and director Celine Song, her first-ever feature film, Past Lives, has taken movie lovers by storm. The romantic drama first premiered at Sundance 2023 and went on to garner numerous awards and nominations, and is now nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Based on Song's own personal experiences, Past Lives shares the story of Nora (played by Greta Lee), whose family immigrated to Canada from Seoul when she was a little girl, leaving behind her best friend, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). Years later, the two reconnect and find they still share a special bond, but the distance between them makes cultivating a true relationship difficult, and they once again go their separate ways. Another decade later, Nora is married to Arhtur (John Magaro), but Hae Sung is finally able to make the voyage across the Pacific to visit the girl he can't forget. They spend their time discussing destiny, the past, present, and future, and what it means to love.
Following Collider and Landmark Theatre's special FYC screening of Past Lives, our own Steve Weintraub hosted an exclusive Q&A with Song to talk about her film and the journey from her debut feature to the Oscars. She breaks down the bar scene, the relationship between the film's trio, and the final shot between Nora and Hae Sung. Song also shares her inspiration for the film, why it had to be a movie instead of a play, how writing for Wheel of Time influenced how she handled her production, and why she won't talk about her upcoming sophomore feature, Materialists, starring Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, and Dakota Johnson.
#PastLives #CelineSong #GretaLee
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[@ren1818ren]

Wow, love how she explained everything, giving deeper meaning to this beautiful movie.

[@Minionsfan8]

Fantastic interview!

[@user-cq8ju6fe4j]

Great interview. Loved the film so so much, and I can see into the future that Celine will be one of the best film makers ever, she is something special.

[@teacherlisa163]

I'm so grateful that I took the time to watch this video. While I'm not sure everyone felt the same towards the movie while watching it, hearing Celine's intentions gave the movie a much richer meaning. She was fully intentional for every. single. thing. And the fact that the movie was based on her own life experience made it even better. It happened in real life, and it's very relatable. The only thing I diminished it was her colorful use of language. I could have enjoyed the interview even more had it not been for those detractors.

[@sparklysparkly4576]

Not just love this movie, but I instantly love her and became her fan ! She's so unique and caring person!

[@MrAndy12878]

Pure awesome post, nuff said

[@ren1818ren]

Plus she’s fucking cool 😎