After nominations were announced for the 96thAcademy Awards, a huge discourse emerged followingBarbiebeing snubbed in two major categories. Greta Gerwig, who directed the film and was largely believed to be in the running for a Best Director nomination, was left out in that particular category, while star Margot Robbie didn’t make the final five for Best Actress. The uproar over their exclusion was deafening, and it has continued to carry on in the wake of the nominations being revealed. Still, amid this discourse, it has also made it blatantly obvious that the hauntingly beautifulPast Lives, another great 2023 film, was shut out in the same major categories.
Past Lives, directed by Celine Song in herfeature directorial debut, is a small but profoundly intimate romantic drama that has been the little engine that could all awards season. It doesn’t feature any big stars, didn’t set the box office on fire, and didn’t have the push of one of the bigger major studios, but the film was created with so much passion, heart, and honesty that it couldn’t help but capture the attention of those who have seen it.
Past Livesmanaged to have a presence during the awards season, and while itsOscar nominations for Best Pictureand Song’s original screenplay should not be ignored, The Academy not recognizing Song’s understated direction and star Greta Lee’s quietly devastating performance is the snub the industry should be paying closer attention to.
Past Lives Is a Beautiful Love Story
Past Lives
Premiering last January at the Sundance Film Festival,Past Livesfollows two childhood friends over 24 years while they contemplate the true nature of their relationship amid their growing apart and beginning to live different lives. Their separation started when they were only 12 years old after Na Young (played as a child by Seung Ah Moon) moved from Seoul, Korea, with her family, while Hae Song (played as a child by Seung Min Yim) stayed behind.
After immigrating to Toronto, the pair loses contact, and Na Young changes her name to Nora Moon (now played by Greta Lee). 12 years later, Hae Sung (now played by Teo Yoo) has finished military school, and Nora has moved to New York. Thanks to social media, their paths cross again, and they begin frequently communicating through video calls, but they cannot visit each other because life plans have made it difficult for them to make the time. Soon, Nora tells Hae they should stop talking so she can focus on writing andlife in New York, suggesting that it will only be a short break. As it turns out, that brief break turned into another 12 years.
Greta Lee and Celine Song May Have Been Too Subtle for Oscar Voters
The greatest strength ofPast Livesis what is unspoken. The film features two characters who haven’t addressed what their relationship means to each other. That silence has turned into great uncertainty despite a palpable chemistry that still exists between them when they finally come face to face as fully formed adults.
Lee’s performance, in particular, is remarkably subtle but all the more powerful because you sense everything she’s feeling through body language and a simple glance. It’s the kind of subtlety oftensnubbed by Oscar votersin favor of performances that are much more emotive and in your face. During much of the awards season, while earning nominations for several precursors, fans were worried that the understated nature of Lee’s performance would be ignored by the Academy. After all, it’s not the work they typically acknowledge, even though Lee’s work in the film is devastatingly beautiful because it’s coming from a much more grounded place.
Why Movies Like Past Lives Are Much Needed in Today’s World
Movies like Past Lives are a lesson in simplicity.
Much of what works inPast Livescomes together because of its performers and because Song, as the film’s director, creates an intimate atmosphere for them to inhabit that is gripping for the audience from start to finish. The film is said to be semi-autographical and inspired by Song’s life, thus explaining why so much of the story appears to come from a place of authenticity. These characters feel wholly lived in because of Song’s direction, writing, and the level of commitment she could pull from her performers.
Song also made the atmosphere of her locations come to life. Taking place primarily in Seoul and New York, Song makes these spaces a living, breathing character of its own. There is a beauty and calmness in which her camera captures the landscape, and, despite how big New York can feel in particular, she can realize an intimacy in these surroundings that matches the intimacy of its two primary characters. All on only a budget of $12 million, Song givesPast Livesa beating heartbeat with its visuals that feel so much more alive than that.
Much like acting, Oscar voters don’t always recognize more subtle directing choices, and even though what Song created popped off the screen for some who saw it, the ultimate five that made the Best Director cut are working with more resources or are dabbling in material that might feel more grand than the “What ifs” of a romantic relationship. In no way is this a slight to any of the nominees because they deserve their spots, but it does shine a light on The Academy not giving total recognition to smaller stories.
Past Lives Lacked a Large Budget for Oscar Voters
While the debate overtheBarbiesnubshas valid points on both sides, that particular was in a much better spot in terms of reaching Academy voters when compared toPast Lives. A24, who released the film, has been a favorite of cinephiles because their name alone indicates movies of a higher value. However, they’re still an independent production company that doesn’t have an endless stash of money to get their films in front of Oscar voters.
Past Lives: Breaking Down How the K-Drama Reinvents the Rules of Romantic Movies
Past Lives has been making waves since Sundance 2023. With it releasing in major theaters, the film has reinvented the genre.
Barbiewas released by Warner Bros. and given a $145 million budget before it took the entire world by storm when it became theirhighest-grossing film to dateas well as the highest-grossing film of the year with a global gross of $1.4 billion. The film has much more muscle and power behind it to make it more scene by the voting body. Yes, the film still missed the two categories in question, butPast Liveswas always fighting a more significant uphill battle to garner similar attention due to being a smaller film.
Award recognition isn’t everything, but the acknowledgment can mean so much for smaller films fighting to be seen.Past Liveswill continue to be loved by those who have seen it and found something profoundly relatable about its central story. Sometimes, more quiet pain can be the most devastating, and what isn’t said can be even more powerful than the words coming directly out of someone’s mouth.Past Livesthrives on the strengths of these moments, and Lee’s performance, along with Song’s direction, is a prime example of how these subtleties can work. However, sometimes these moments are so subtle that they tend to go unnoticed, and that is the sad reality ofPast Livesmissing out in two categories it so richly deserved to be in.Past Livesis available to rent on Prime Video. The 96th Academy Awards will occur on Jun 28, 2025, at 4:00 pm PDT.
