I’d heard so much about Celine Song’s directorial debut Past Lives going into it. And when there’s this kind of hype surrounding a film, it’s bound to disappoint me. But not always! I think it’s very possible that Past Lives is a perfect film. The relatability of this story and the universality of the person from one’s past who holds this kind of emotional real estate in your mind – it’s something I think just about anyone could relate to and find incredibly poignant. There’s extreme specificity to the immigrant narrative in Past Lives, but even that has such a wide appeal to it, I can see this film resonating with every kind of audience far and wide.

Na Young (later Nora) (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) are childhood friends who are separated when Nora’s creative type parents emigrate from Korea to the US. As the years pass, Nora becomes a burgeoning playwright and Hae Sung stays in Korea. They reconnect over Skype 12 years later, and their chemistry is stronger than ever. But due to the distance, Greta decides to put a pause to their correspondence as she feels her emotions growing too strong. 12 years after this, Nora is married to Arthur (John Magaro), who she met at a writer’s retreat. Hae Sung announces his plan to visit New York, and they both are forced to confront their complex feelings toward one another during this short visit.

Greta Lee and Teo Yoo are so great together, and their chemistry is as strong as it needs to be for this kind of love story to pack the punch it needs to. It’s been said this story owes a lot to films like Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy and honestly, the two people who are so powerfully connected but couldn’t possibly be together in real life love story is my favorite kind of love story, so I’m always welcome to more of this. There’s an overwhelming swooniness to this love story, but the forbidden nature of this never plausibly working out adds an element of tragedy to the whole thing. There’s such beauty to this story and that’s completely dependent on this exceptionally well-chosen cast.

This is writer/director Celine Song’s debut and I think this is among the most confident and assured first features I’ve seen in a long time. This film never loses sight of what it wants to say, it’s never too long, it never loses your heart or your interest, and it leaves you with a lot to think about on your drive home. Because we all have someone like this – someone who it almost worked out with, but due to factors outside of one’s control, it couldn’t. And there’s the gauzy look of a memory in Shabier Kirchner’s cinematography. It immediately finds itself on the list of the great New York-set love stories. The city is stunning, but the isolation and longing felt by the lead character is deeply felt.

I could see one finding the pace a bit languid, but if you’re wrapped up in this love story, the time spent in it falls away. This is such a beautifully crafted film in every possible way. I can see why it’s resonated so deeply with so many different kinds of viewers. Greta Lee and Teo Yeo are doing beautiful work in a star-crossed lovers story for the ages. I would be very surprised if this were overlooked come Oscar time next year. Past Lives is a poignant, contemplative, devastatingly romantic story about the choices we make. It’s overflowing with beauty and heart. It’s essential viewing.