Past Lives

Past Lives may be a weepie, but it’s a hyper-sophisticated one.

Plaudits to the principal cast, who do a miraculous job of portraying inner conflict and ecstasy with the merest tilt of a head, or subtle shift of a shoulder.

Song finds the political in the personal and avoids seeming indulgent or niche.

The film’s great magic is the way it captures the beauty of lonely cities with a camera that seems to caress their geography.

It’s barely believable that this is Song’s very first feature. Her film is simply sublime from start to finish.

It is highly recommended as a touching and always subtle film about old memories, old friendships and contemporary realities.

Its greatness doesn't so much immediately grab you by the throat but worms its way into your affections more and more with each passing scene, building and building until it becomes impossible to deny in its note-perfect final act.

Past Lives is notable for what it leaves out. It is a drama of accommodation, a minimalist romance in which the spectre of a grand passion is held tantalisingly at bay.

A sublime, aching meditation on memory and time, practical love and idealistic romance, and all the complex contradictions that exist in between.

This gorgeous, life-affirming feature is one of the best I’ve seen this year.