Thank you for the mention, Sam. Such an honor and joy to contribute to INNER LIFE. Stay well. (Poor Things is one of my new favorite films. Can't wait to also read Gray's novel.)
I reacted differently to Past Lives' cinematography and music (liked both), but ultimately agree—the ending makes the film say something. Mostly though, I just appreciated how the film showed modern, mundane life and love honestly.
I loved Poor Things too. Not much more to say about that on my end.
I didn't see Past Lives and I've been putting it off for various reasons. One day, I'll get around to it. But you got at the heart of my ambivalence towards it. I'm sure it's a fine movie. But so much of Asian American art is geared towards assuaging the angst of the most elite and assimilated 2nd generation Asian Americans (i.e. the Noras among us) that even though they've taken the easier path at almost every turn in their lives (the "less-challenging choices" you speak of), that they not only did questionable (edit: that they not only did nothing questionable), but they are also the great protagonists of our community. That the most worthy cultural and political projects of Asian America all revolve around their uplifting their feelings and self-esteem.
"Here’s an alternate reading of Past Lives: Hae Sung is an emotionally stunted man who tacitly betrays his girlfriend to chase his fantasy image of a woman he once knew when he was 12. Nora is a status-seeking individualist who has internalised hegemonic Western notions of success and views Korea as ‘too small’ for her ambitions."
The first part is uncomfortable, yes. But the second part is where it gets very taboo, especially because of the highly genderized ways that Asian American men and women are unevenly granted paths to assimilation via coupling with white partners. Asian America is currently too emotionally stunted to actually talk about this in a mature way, much less make any decent art about it. The middling movie Shortcomings is another example of this.
Your reviews resonated, and it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who did not appreciate fully the greatness of Past Lives. On the other hand, your stellar review of Poor Things merits multiple readings. You nailed both Belle's Candidian journey and the treacherous waters of female sexuality, as well as the other masterful cinematic touches - oh how I wish to travel on that vessel. The more I think about it, the more I relate. Kudos.
Interesting! I usually agree with you, but this time I had the exact opposite takes. I felt that Poor Things was fun to look at, but the story got bogged down when Bella and Duncan stay together after that dance. She was ready to move on into the world. The rest of the plot felt like a record skip to me.
Conversely, Past Lives was such a slow burn of real people figuring something out without knowing exactly what it was that they were grappling with. So often, when big issues come up in life, half the challenge is seeing through the confusion and actually seeing what it is that’s happening.
We thought that Nora was confronting a rekindling romance, but that final walk revealed that she was grieving the loss of an identity that she’d had to repress in order to assimilate. Her husband was forced to live in the ambivalence. Maybe it’s because I’m also in an intercultural/interracial marriage but it really resonated with me, especially his longing when she dreamed in Korean.
Thank you for the mention, Sam. Such an honor and joy to contribute to INNER LIFE. Stay well. (Poor Things is one of my new favorite films. Can't wait to also read Gray's novel.)
Looks like I'll watch these indeed. Thank you for the reviews, Sam.
What books you'd call "epics about women"?
I reacted differently to Past Lives' cinematography and music (liked both), but ultimately agree—the ending makes the film say something. Mostly though, I just appreciated how the film showed modern, mundane life and love honestly.
I loved Poor Things too. Not much more to say about that on my end.
I didn't see Past Lives and I've been putting it off for various reasons. One day, I'll get around to it. But you got at the heart of my ambivalence towards it. I'm sure it's a fine movie. But so much of Asian American art is geared towards assuaging the angst of the most elite and assimilated 2nd generation Asian Americans (i.e. the Noras among us) that even though they've taken the easier path at almost every turn in their lives (the "less-challenging choices" you speak of), that they not only did questionable (edit: that they not only did nothing questionable), but they are also the great protagonists of our community. That the most worthy cultural and political projects of Asian America all revolve around their uplifting their feelings and self-esteem.
There's a great review in ArtReview by Ian Wang about this movie (https://artreview.com/the-critics-are-wrong-about-past-lives/), and its best line is this:
"Here’s an alternate reading of Past Lives: Hae Sung is an emotionally stunted man who tacitly betrays his girlfriend to chase his fantasy image of a woman he once knew when he was 12. Nora is a status-seeking individualist who has internalised hegemonic Western notions of success and views Korea as ‘too small’ for her ambitions."
The first part is uncomfortable, yes. But the second part is where it gets very taboo, especially because of the highly genderized ways that Asian American men and women are unevenly granted paths to assimilation via coupling with white partners. Asian America is currently too emotionally stunted to actually talk about this in a mature way, much less make any decent art about it. The middling movie Shortcomings is another example of this.
Your reviews resonated, and it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who did not appreciate fully the greatness of Past Lives. On the other hand, your stellar review of Poor Things merits multiple readings. You nailed both Belle's Candidian journey and the treacherous waters of female sexuality, as well as the other masterful cinematic touches - oh how I wish to travel on that vessel. The more I think about it, the more I relate. Kudos.
Interesting! I usually agree with you, but this time I had the exact opposite takes. I felt that Poor Things was fun
Interesting! I usually agree with you, but this time I had the exact opposite takes. I felt that Poor Things was fun to look at, but the story got bogged down when Bella and Duncan stay together after that dance. She was ready to move on into the world. The rest of the plot felt like a record skip to me.
Conversely, Past Lives was such a slow burn of real people figuring something out without knowing exactly what it was that they were grappling with. So often, when big issues come up in life, half the challenge is seeing through the confusion and actually seeing what it is that’s happening.
We thought that Nora was confronting a rekindling romance, but that final walk revealed that she was grieving the loss of an identity that she’d had to repress in order to assimilate. Her husband was forced to live in the ambivalence. Maybe it’s because I’m also in an intercultural/interracial marriage but it really resonated with me, especially his longing when she dreamed in Korean.