Finding Closure by Accepting In-Yun as a Trace of Someone’s Presence in One’s Life: Past Lives (2023)
When the heart is wounded, all you need is the peace you gain from closure. Closure is a craving gesture of unfinished feelings from the heart. As normal human beings, we tend to question everything that hasn't been answered yet. Questioning everything has always been the tendency of living. We, humans, often crave the answer to everything while also knowing the fact that not everything has an answer. People seek closure for their peace of mind because it's part of healing their wounded hearts.
Gaining closure is an act of closing a chapter and starting another book. You don't have to finish every chapter to move on to another book. Sometimes, you have to put down the book you could not finish anymore. Whether there are participants or not, you can find the closure you need. Clarity is the heart itself convincing what it needs. When the heart's drained itself out of dissatisfaction, that's clarity. You don't have to ask people about what your heart desires.
But then again, we're humans, aren't we?
We, yet again, keep seeking answers. We kept asking 'Why?', although the answer was right in front of us. The explosive curiosity often haunts us to the brink of insanity. How many answers are we looking for until we gain the closure we need?
The movie Past Lives, directed by Celine Song, depicts closure as an answer to the character's questions. After 24 years of being separated, Hae Sung looks for the answer he needs for his heart by going to America from South Korea to meet his childhood best friend. His mind is loaded with unanswered questions that can only be answered if he meets Nora, his childhood best friend. On the other hand, Nora left her lingering questions unanswered and moved on with her life. Their story starts with childhood best friends until Nora decides to move to America because of her father's work as a movie director. Fast forward 12 years later, Hae Sung tries to find Nora through Facebook, and they rekindle through Skype for a while. However, Nora told Hae Sung he prevented her from achieving her dreams because they talk to each other every day, ignoring the time differences between America and South Korea. They contact each other once in a while after 12 years, until Hae Sung decides to meet Nora in America, knowing Nora is already married. Hae Sung eventually tells how he feels for Nora and how magical it would be if they got together. Hae Sung then went back to his country, gaining peace in his heart.
The beauty of In-Yun describes the whole concept of the movie. The connection between Hae Sung and Nora can be easily proven by the concept of In-Yun.
Nora herself stated about In-Yun, where there are almost no coincidences in this life.
"There is a word in Korean. In-Yun. It means "providence" or "fate". But it's specifically about relationships between people. I think it comes from Buddhism and reincarnation. It's an In-Yun if two strangers even walk by 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-Yun over 8,000 lifetimes."
The In-Yun between Hae Sung and Nora is layered. The universe keeps uniting them with each other despite two decades of not meeting with each other. After all the ups and downs, rejecting one another's affection, until accepting their fate for one another. Somehow, in some fascinating way, the universe keeps tying them together, as if they had some kind of relationship in their past lives before.
Meeting your childhood best friend for the first time after 24 years is not an easily described feeling. Imagine the last time you saw them as a child, and now you see them as grown. This meet-up depicts the ideal perception of In-Yun, where no matter how long they're separated, they still have unexplainable feelings for one another. The audience definitely can feel through the screen the tension and awkwardness when they first meet each other after a very long time. Both Hae Sung and Nora reminisce about the old times while acknowledging the layered assumptions within each other. Their eyes say it all. The silence engulfed you in the complicated minds of Nora and Hae Sung, especially with Hae Sung, who then later told Nora he specifically came to America to meet her,
for closure.
Although Hae Sung and Nora know they can't be together, there's the illusion of what-ifs within their thoughts. Nora is a grounded woman. Her opinion can hardly change. But the idea of being with her childhood lover is inevitable to think about. Even Nora's husband, Arthur, said it himself.
Although Hae Sung and Nora know they can't be together, there's the illusion of what-ifs within their thoughts. Nora is a grounded woman. Her opinion can hardly change. But the idea of being with her childhood lover is inevitable to think about. Even Nora's husband, Arthur, said it himself.
“What a good story this is. Childhood sweethearts who reconnect 24 years later and realize they were meant for each other. In the story I would be the evil white American husband standing in the way of destiny.”
It sounds so magical and unrealistic to think you can possibly meet your soulmate 24 years from now on. But the relationship between Nora and Hae Sung is the depiction of faith itself.
Hae Sung's attention to America was to see Nora. His heart craves the closure he needs to find clarity within his soul. And when he sees Nora, all the words spill like a water fountain on a rainy day. At the bar, Hae Sung confesses how hurt he was when he met Nora's husband. To say such things takes bravery in order to gain that closure. He had to do it for his soul. They hang each other in the realm of possibilities for decades. Hae Sung's action was the form of closure Nora never knew she needed. Not only does their conversation bring closure to Hae Sung, but also to Nora. Nora does not realize the effect of closure from Hae Sung brings her until he's gone. While Hae Sung got his peace on the way back to his country, Nora crumbled in her husband's arms thinking about the possibilities. It's not that Nora wants to be with Hae Sung in a snap of a finger. It's the realization that all those years were left wasted for them to be separated from each other.
The clarity Hae Sung gained was enough for him to move on, while there are possibilities that will linger in Nora's mind after those conversations because she was unaware before. The beauty of In-Yun will forever mark their lifetime. This movie does not necessarily give you a life lesson out of its tragedy. Celine Song, the director of Past Lives herself, said in her interview with BAFTA, that this film will present various feelings for the audience because it depends on how you view the experience endured by Hae Sung and Nora. People have different perceptions of this film depending on their personal experiences.
Despite the movie being a real-life story from Celine herself, she wishes the audience to feel the movie as if it were their own story. The personal aspects of the movie invite different personal feelings from various people. Her invitation to her story can be seen at the beginning of the movie when Nora looks at the camera. That's when she welcomed the audience to understand her story.
The relatability of the movie is undoubtful to admit. We, of course, have people who come and go in our lives. They will either be the most important people in our lives or just another life lesson for us to keep moving forward. And, there's also someone like Hae Sung in your life, who showed up after you thought he disappeared from your life.
A gut-wrenching yet peaceful end is what I would say to describe the ending of this movie. The tragedy of two people who seem perfect for each other, but they have nothing but to think about the what-ifs instead of their future.
Although it is hurtful to think about the possibilities Hae Sung and Nora could have had, they accept the fact that they are happy they crossed paths. The closure Hae Sung gained is the closure Nora never knew she needed. The concept of In-Yun revolving around their relationship was intended for them, as their love lingers no matter how long they are apart. Both Hae Sung and Nora will always have a place for each other in their hearts.
Hae Sung's attention to America was to see Nora. His heart craves the closure he needs to find clarity within his soul. And when he sees Nora, all the words spill like a water fountain on a rainy day. At the bar, Hae Sung confesses how hurt he was when he met Nora's husband. To say such things takes bravery in order to gain that closure. He had to do it for his soul. They hang each other in the realm of possibilities for decades. Hae Sung's action was the form of closure Nora never knew she needed. Not only does their conversation bring closure to Hae Sung, but also to Nora. Nora does not realize the effect of closure from Hae Sung brings her until he's gone. While Hae Sung got his peace on the way back to his country, Nora crumbled in her husband's arms thinking about the possibilities. It's not that Nora wants to be with Hae Sung in a snap of a finger. It's the realization that all those years were left wasted for them to be separated from each other.
The clarity Hae Sung gained was enough for him to move on, while there are possibilities that will linger in Nora's mind after those conversations because she was unaware before. The beauty of In-Yun will forever mark their lifetime. This movie does not necessarily give you a life lesson out of its tragedy. Celine Song, the director of Past Lives herself, said in her interview with BAFTA, that this film will present various feelings for the audience because it depends on how you view the experience endured by Hae Sung and Nora. People have different perceptions of this film depending on their personal experiences.
Despite the movie being a real-life story from Celine herself, she wishes the audience to feel the movie as if it were their own story. The personal aspects of the movie invite different personal feelings from various people. Her invitation to her story can be seen at the beginning of the movie when Nora looks at the camera. That's when she welcomed the audience to understand her story.
The relatability of the movie is undoubtful to admit. We, of course, have people who come and go in our lives. They will either be the most important people in our lives or just another life lesson for us to keep moving forward. And, there's also someone like Hae Sung in your life, who showed up after you thought he disappeared from your life.
A gut-wrenching yet peaceful end is what I would say to describe the ending of this movie. The tragedy of two people who seem perfect for each other, but they have nothing but to think about the what-ifs instead of their future.
Although it is hurtful to think about the possibilities Hae Sung and Nora could have had, they accept the fact that they are happy they crossed paths. The closure Hae Sung gained is the closure Nora never knew she needed. The concept of In-Yun revolving around their relationship was intended for them, as their love lingers no matter how long they are apart. Both Hae Sung and Nora will always have a place for each other in their hearts.
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