Past Lives

The rare love story that’s both impossibly romantic and crushingly pragmatic, “Past Lives” follows two people who might be soulmates, even though they have never kissed and haven’t been in the same city in 24 years.

Making an utterly assured feature debut, writer-director Celine Song modulates the delicate tonal balance of this wise, wistful film perfectly, dividing her narrative into three distinct segments – following the characters when they’re roughly 12, 24, and 36 – with each passage more moving than the last. There are three superb performances at the picture’s centre, but none is more radiant than that of Greta Lee, gracefully capturing the spirit of a searching soul who seems to understand things about the nuances of love that are beyond the grasp of the rest of us.

(Tim Grierson, Screen Daily)