Netflix fans break down in tears over ‘beautiful’ Korean American romance Past Lives – and say it’s as good as One Day

Past Lives viewers have broken down in tears watching the ‘beautiful’ Korean American film on Netflix – as fans compare it to One Day and Normal People.

The romantic drama is directed by Celine Song and developed by American film production company A24, which developed Priscilla and Aftersun.

The film – starring Greta Lee and Teo Yoo – follows two childhood friends Na and Hae Sun whose lives take drastically different turns after she emigrates to North America with her family.

After amassing over $24m at the box office, the critically acclaimed movie – which won Best Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards last night and has been nominated for Best Picture at the upcoming Oscars – has recently been added to Netflix in the UK.

In the 10 days it has been on the streaming platform, impressed viewers have gushed about the ‘beautiful’ portrayal of lost love and the challenges of emigrating. 

One wrote: ‘Super late to the party but Past Lives is sublime. Incredible performance that says so much with body language and silence.’ 

Referencing the hugely popular Sally Rooney TV adaptation starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones, another added: ‘Normal People walked so that Past Lives could run!’ 

‘One of the best films of awards season,’ a third said. ‘Beautifully acted and directed. The screenplay is PERFECT.’ 

‘Ugly crying watching Past Lives again,’ a fourth fan said. ‘What a film! I think the last ten minutes are close to perfection.’ 

‘Between Past Lives and One Day I’m really getting my fill of wistful depressing beautiful love stories this weekend,’ a fifth gushed. ‘Maybe I should rewatch Normal People or something to really overload on it.’

When it was initially released, the film was praised by industry heavyweight Christopher Nolan – who told Time magazine that it was one of his favourite recent films along with Aftersun.

The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw said: ‘This heart-meltingly romantic and sad movie from Korean-Canadian dramatist and film-maker Celine Song left me wrung out and empty and weirdly euphoric, as if I’d lived through an 18-month affair in the course of an hour and three-quarters.’ 

Meanwhile, Nick De Semlyen of Empire Magazine said: ‘A transcendent debut for South Korean-Canadian filmmaker Celine Song, this romantic drama is a masterclass in slow, simmering storytelling. It will stay with you, maybe even into your next life.’  

‘Celine Song makes a quietly spectacular writing-directing debut with Past Lives, a lyrical slow burn of a film that expertly holds back wellsprings of emotion, until it unleashes a deluge,’ said Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post. 

The film’s resurgence in popularity comes after Netflix’s adaption of One Day surpassed 15.2m streams in just 11 days. The 14-part series starring Ambika Mod, 28, and Leo Woodall, 27, launched on February 8 and has since captivated hearts with its moving storyline and gut-wrenching ending.

Past Lives follows Na or Nora (played by Greta Lee) and Hae Sun (played by Teo Yoo), who are two childhood sweethearts separated after Nora’s family emigrated from South Korea to Canada.

At 12, the pair have their final in-person encounter for 20 years. While walking back from school together, Hae Sun walks along a flat path as Na climbs stairs, symbolic of Hae Sun’s stagnant future without Nora, while her life continues without him.

Na changes her name to Nora and explores new land and its opportunities in Canada before settling down as a playwright in New York, married to an American man called Arthur.

Nora and Hae Sun reconnect in New York after Hae Sun tracked his former lover down via social media 

At 12, Nora emigrates to Canada with her family while Hae Sung continues life in Korea. The final scene of the pair in their childhood shows Nora climbing up stairs while Hae Sung continues on a flat path, a metaphor for their futures 

The former lovers reunite in New York 20 years after they last saw each other and confront themes of love and destiny 

The film’s resurgence in popularity comes after Netflix’s adaption of One Day (pictured) surpassed 15.2m streams in just 11 days

Hae Sun undertakes an engineering course, completes mandatory military service, and then takes up a job in what he considers an ordinary life.

Both keep in touch occasionally through Skype. Twenty years later, the pair are reunited for one week and confront themes of love, destiny, and the complexities of being an immigrant while viewers question whether they will end up together. 

The film explores an absorbing motif called In-Yun, a Korean word for reincarnation that explains interactions between two people in this life are owed to the interactions in their previous lives.

Past Lives reached cinemas in September last year. However, it has since received a new lease of life following its Netflix debut this month. 

And just like the film it references, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, the film has earned a cult-classic status among critics and viewers alike. 

The film’s arrival on Netflix has caused hype on social media five months after its cinematic release 

Accepting the award for Best Feature at the Spirit Awards last night, Celine Song said: ‘There is a concept in our film, it’s an Eastern concept and it is about how finding and being in the same space and time in this life means that we actually knew each other for many, many lives that came before this one. 

‘And I think that making this movie, I have felt this way about everybody who’s on stage here, and I know that they have felt the same.

‘Accepting the best feature award on behalf of all of them and on behalf of our team, it’s a feeling that I get where I feel, you know, so less lonely because I know that everybody here feels the same too.’

Celine Song was born in South Korea but moved to Ontario in Canada when she was 12.