Monthly Archives: September 2023

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: PAST LIVES (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: PAST LIVES (2023)

Directed by Celine Song

Written by Celine Song

Produced by: David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, etc.

Main cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro, Ji Hye Yoon, Choi Won-young, etc.

Cinematography: Shabier Kirchner

Edited by: Keith Fraas

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

“It’s an in-yeon if two strangers even walk past each other in the street and their clothes accidentally brush, because it means there must have been something between them in their past lives. If two people get married, they say it’s because there have been 8,000 layers of in-yeon over 8,000 lifetimes.” – Nora from Past Lives (2023)

Are we fated to connect with the ones we love through each life we lead? Is love a connecting force for good which enriches and links us to our forever soulmate? Or is it a complex chemical reaction driven by three chemicals in the brain such as noradrenaline that stimulates adrenaline production, dopamine, and phenylethylamine. Be it spiritual or chemical, love drives many of the highs of our lives, but it is also responsible for disappointing lows. Safe to say that love and romance are also a staple for many emotionally charged and beautiful works of cinema, of which Celine Song’s Past Lives (2023) is certainly one of them.

Past Lives (2023) is a love story which transports the audience across time and continents through the spiritual and spatial connection of characters, Na Young (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). The opening act establishes the relationship of the two as schoolfriends in Seoul. Alas, any potential fledgling romance for the teenagers is blocked as Na Young’s family moves to Canada, leaving Hae Sung’s alone with his future unknown. The film then moves twelve years forward where Na Young, now known as Nora, lives in New York. Through a chance quirk of social media fate, she reconnects with Hae Sung. Is that adolescent spark still there?

In the second act, Song’s elegantly devised screenplay explores and Nora Hae Sung’s long distance relationship over several heartfelt online calls. But complex emotional circumstances dictate the two cannot reconcile the friendship further. The two drift apart and they take other partners as another twelve years pass. With Nora in a strong relationship with the sensitive and kindly, Arthur (John Magaro), it would appear Nora and Hae Sung’s friendship is at an end. Or is it? Because Song delivers one of the most powerfully moving third acts I have seen at the cinema in some years.

Without explosions, or car chases, or superheroes or fast-paced cutting or extraordinary heroes defeating powerful foes, Past Lives (2023), is one of the most impactful and stirring films of this year. Celine Song achieves this with a delicate hand in the writing and direction, plus a purposeful naturalistic cinematographic palette delivered by Shabier Kirchner. Above all else Song creates two honest characters who you root for from the start, as the one feels the romantic electricity build on the screen. Indeed, Greta Lee and Teo Yoo’s on-screen chemistry is an acting masterclass, with John Magaro further providing touching support within the triangle.

Now, I am not without sensitivity, but it’s virtually impossible to make me cry at the cinema. But Past Lives (2023) almost did. It made my heart swell and ache. It made me laugh as well, because Song’s script has lovely humour throughout. Above all else, whether it is karma or chemicals, it made me grateful to have known love.

Mark: 10 out of 11

Cinema, horror, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: TALK TO ME (2022)

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CINEMA REVIEW: TALK TO ME (2022)

Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou

Written by: Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman

Based on an idea by: Daley Pearson

Produced by: Samantha Jennings, Kristina Ceyton

Cast: Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, Marcus Johnson, Alexandria Steffensen, etc.

Cinematography: Aaron McLisky

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

A cold paw of death, stiff fingers, rotting black nails, gripped by a living hand and opening a portal, a link to the other side to make contact with lost spirits. What does the hand represent or symbolise in terms of contemporary subtext? Is it mobile phones? Or social media? Or is it just a creepy device with which to layer chills and suspense and scare teenagers on a Friday night at the cinema. Does a horror film have to have a deeper meaning as long as it scares us?

Saw (2004), Paranormal Activity (2007), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Night of the Living Dead (1968) and most recently, Get Out (2017), are low budget horror films which became breakout box office hits. Similarly, to Peele’s debut chiller, Talk To Me (2022), is at the higher echelon of “low” budget cinema costing circa $4 million to produce. Yet, it has given A24 its biggest hit to date thanks to a nifty premise, impressive young cast, and compelling direction from yet another filmmaking sibling duo in Danny and Michael Philippou.

The film takes the phrase “talk to the hand” literally as a bunch of dopey Aussie teens play party games for kicks by connecting with the afterlife through a disembodied hand. Before you can say, “Candyman, Candyman, Candyman!” the ghost has decided they don’t want to return home and chooses to remain with the living. I hate it when that happens! Cue all sorts of creepy and unsettling shenanigans.

The emotional core of this overfamiliar ghoulish tale is represented in the grieving teen angst of Sophie Wilde’s Mia. In attempting to overcome the recent passing of her father, Mia leaves herself open to the torment of the nefarious spirits. So, once she has shook the dead hand at a party she is suddenly connected with her dead father’s spirit. Or is she cursed by something altogether more evil. What do you think?

For all the over-used tropes within Talk to Me (2022) is a very suspenseful and scary film. While Wilde’s acting is slightly overwrought, her character is the least irritating of the dumb teenage protagonists not thinking through the consequence of their actions. Thematically it is quite strong as it explores the nature of grief and how it impact one’s mental health. My one main criticism of the production was Aaron McLisky’s cinematography was too dark, even for a horror film. Nonetheless, the hand itself is an iconic prop, and will no doubt lead to a slew of most likely inferior franchised sequels.

Mark: 7.5 out of 11