There’s a new look in New York cinema, born from the slanted eyes of Celine Song -of South Korean origin and Canadian accent, where he grew up- and who has found his natural setting in the streets of the world capital. He has just released his first film in Spain, ‘Past lives», one of the surprises of the awards season which has just started in the United States. For the moment, only the Gotham Awards have made their nominations public and Céline Song’s film appears in the list of favorites for best film. It’s not a bad place to start in the Oscar assault: last year’s winner was “Everything at the Same Time, Everywhere,” which ended the year on a high note.
He has the resources to achieve it: one of those romantic stories where love is touched at the fingertips but never ends up materializing. “The film focuses on the extraordinary moments of ordinary life and leaves room for feelings,” explained the filmmaker during her stay in Spain at the San Sebastian Festival, where she presented a moving but not watered-down film, at the occasion for this humor. eliminates any attempt at pretension and real life prevails over the fictional endings of old Hollywood.
First in the schoolyard of their childhood then, as adults, in this New York of romantic light that the cinema has recreated so many times, the protagonists approach and move away according to the comings and goings of destiny, never of their will. When they were children, she left Korea because her filmmaker father had emigrated; When young, they began a long-distance relationship via Facebook which eventually deteriorated due to the routine of the days and the distance, and so on until years later, as adults, they found themselves in New York. In the moving reunion of two friends separated in childhood, her husband also appears, a guy it would be easier to kill than to hate.
The filmmaker says that inspiration came to her where only one can fantasize about these things: in a bar. There, she found herself accompanying her husband, who speaks only English, trying to communicate with a boy who only knows Korean; and she, in the middle, acted as translator. This is sort of the opening scene of ‘Past Lives’. “Not only was I translating what they were saying to these two people, but I was also translating their two respective cultures. And I realized that it also spoke of parts of my past and my life,” explained the filmmaker.
There is so much in the biography of Céline Song in ‘Past Lives’ as of any possible spectator. But it doesn’t matter, the how matters. “The villain of this film is 24 years old and the Pacific Ocean,” the filmmaker reflects, “but the things everyone left behind become their past lives,” and she sets an example not only for those who emigrate, but also to those who leave, move or change jobs.
Because Céline Song, who in addition to being a filmmaker is a playwright, has succeeded in making her film a small phenomenon. She did it on the fringes of Hollywood, supported by the “independent” production company of the moment (A24) and by traveling to the main festivals. At Sundance, where his journey began, in Berlin or in San Sebastian, this buzz was created. And now he has to approve it in front of academics who vote for the Oscars. “I’m not interested in fame, only in what the film is about and how it connects with the audience,” explained the playwright who has already become one of the most interesting characters in cinema in 2024.
“Entrepreneur. Amateur gamer. Zombie advocate. Infuriatingly humble communicator. Proud reader.”
