Love stories aren't going anywhere, period!
A24's critically-acclaimed romantic drama Past Lives, written and directed by Celine Song, has been a darling to watch and root for this awards season, and though the movies that typically dominate the conversations during this time of year usually involve hard subjects like war and violence and political/social turmoil, it's nice to see love and romance be brought back into the mix with a captivating story like Past Lives.
Following a Korean-Canadian immigrant named Nora (Greta Lee) who reconnects with her childhood crush/friend Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) in New York City, though she is already happily married to her husband Arthur (John Magaro), Past Lives is the kind of emotional, bittersweet balm you need in your life, especially in a film landscape filled with so much dreariness and strife.
A24
At the recent 2024 Directors Guild of America Awards in February, Out got the chance to chat with Song about navigating awards season (Past Lives has two noms at this years Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay) and bringing a good 'ole fashioned romance back to mainstream audiences.
"I feel like romance is the biggest thing that happens to an ordinary person's life," Song told Out. When you talk to people and ask, 'What is actually the story of your life?' one of the biggest themes in it is the love story. Romance is not just a genre to me. To me, romance is life. That's how I really think about romance and all of that. Really, Past Lives is a story about a person's life, and it is, of course, romantic and there's romance in it because for an ordinary person, the biggest thing that happens to their life is love."
Elsewhere, at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, Out also got the chance to chat with two of the film's stars, John Magaro and Teo Yoo, and they also weighed in on the romance of Past Lives.
"In the past there was a lot more romance," Magaro said to Out. "Romance was such a staple of old Hollywood. It's a shame that it's sort of fallen away. And if they do romance now, it's always so comedic. But what's even more special about bringing it back in this way is that it's offering an adult romance where it's people who are not just fighting and bickering and throwing punches. It's people leading with their hearts and being kind and generous to each other. And I think that's a beautiful lesson to share. I mean, if you can be like that with your partner the way that Arthur and Nora are, then you have success. Then you have love, true love. So it's been a real joy."
"I think it's a very important message," Yoo adds about bringing romance and love to the forefront in a film like Past Lives. "It's almost like a cliché that it's almost like cringey to say it, but there's truth to it. Be vulnerable, be kind, be empathetic, and do everything out of love. Sometimes it gets forgotten and a lot of political issues come into the mix, but I think everybody in the film industry is in the film industry because of a very romantic aspect about how they look upon life. And I do think that we are not supposed to lose that."
The 96th Academy Awards airs this Sunday, March 10 at 4pm PT/7pm ET on ABC. Past Lives is now streaming on Hulu.
