Celine song directed this wonderful and emotionally complex film about holding on to the past no matter how fleeting it is.
Ha Young is a young girl living in Korea. She has a crush on a boy at school named Hae Sung.
The time comes when her family is immigrating to Canada. It is devastating to young Hae, who is going to miss his friend.
Twelve years go by and Ha is now living in New York City and goes by the name of Nora. One day while browsing the internet she looks up Hae out of curiosity. She contacts him and learns that he has also been looking for her. They talk online for awhile, but Nora worries that the time is being taken away from what she should be doing. They stop communicating. 
Another twelve years passes and Nora is now married to Arthur, a writer. Hao contracts her out of the blue and says he is coming to New York and wants to see her.
The scenes when he arrives are golden. The dialogue and conversation and hidden innuendo are flawlessly displayed.
They have so much to say to each other, yet so much is not said. It boils under the uneasy surface.
The final moments of the film are devastating, but not in the way you might expect. It leaves a longing and emotional feeling that is hard to pinpoint.
"Past Lives" soars as one of the years best films and in my opinion should not be missed.