'Past Lives' Taps Deep Into My Reservoir of Sadness

"Hey there Nora, what's it like in New York City?"

Seoul is half the world away, and Hae Sun is out drinking with his friends trying his best to distract himself from the hurt of a love that wasn't meant to be.

Childhood sweethearts, separated by fate during their tender teenage years, their budding romance becomes an anchor in their hearts and minds, fixed and immovable; a nagging nostalgia that clings to them well into their thirties, refusing to let go.

Going by her new American name, Nora was carried away from South Korea by her artist parents, promised a future full of creative opportunity.

Hae Sung, on the other hand, stays put - becoming more 'Korean' by the day, cursed to wonder where and why Nora is now so far away.

Curiosity overpowers mundanity and routine as it always does, and the reciprocal search for each other 12 years later results in our protagonists reigniting their overseas passion through the compromise of a pair of distant screens.

Confined to a virtual realm, the geographical logistics that limit their love are cruel and relatable to all who've miserably maintained long-distance affection.

Drowning in circumstantial heartbreak, and faced with the impossibility of a realistic reunion in any foreseeable future, our main characters painfully part ways once again.

Nora goes on to marry a fellow writer. Hae Sung cements himself in his corporate Korean ways. Another 12 years of sadness snail by until we eventually reach the meat of the melodrama: an unstoppable visit from an old lover, the reconciliation of the past and future.

Hae Sung shows up in NYC, unleashing a floodgate of feelings, thickening the plot, as the melancholic trio grapple with the pull of an unfulfilled love story.

If you're reading this and it feels as though you've already seen the whole movie, well, that's because you have; in the separation from your highschool sweetheart, during the breakup with a college partner, or the passing of a loved one who's fragile life was cut short.

No matter the form, the human heart sustains tremendous sadness over the course of a single lifetime, and as beautiful of a tribute to love this title may be, it remains unclear as to why one should experience more tragedy vicariously.

Cathartic tears serve as a testament to how equally heart-wrenching and warming Past Lives is, unlocking its way into our Pandora's box of bittersweet memories, allowing us to ruminate once more.

Such emotional flashbacks might even be quite upsetting to the viewer, if it weren't for how frankly and unassumingly the film treats the existential challenges it addresses.

As suggested in the title, Past Lives dares to explore the philosophical underpinnings of our romantic existence; a love not meant to be in this life, may materialize in the next, or perhaps, already had in the past.

There's a cleansing honesty with which Celine Song guides us through the psychological storm of coming to terms with some of our undigested feelings, unknowingly tucked away, pending resolution.

Without a doubt the heart is built to withstand both cultural confusion and romantic disillusion, constantly maturing as it surrenders to the feelings that define us as humans.