Past Lives has gone from being the Festival Darling That Could to an Academy Award nominee. The tender drama from director Celine Song is in the running for two Oscar categories, including Best Picture and Original Screenplay, the Academy announced this morning. The ceremony will be held on March 10.
The honors are well deserved, as the film won over hearts ever since premiering at Sundance Film Festival last January and then hitting theaters in June. Song has earned praise for her delicate yet profound screenplay about two childhood loves in Korea who meet again a decade later in New York. Aside from today’s nods, the film has also picked up Best Picture nominations from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and BAFTAs. Lead actors Greta Lee and Teo Yoo have also earned praise for their breakthrough performances.
“I remember being touched really deeply by the script,” Yoo previously told ELLE.com. “I had a really good cry after. And I was always looking for a project where I can put my personal emotional melancholy into the character, because it was in my life, a very ongoing theme almost.”
“I think reading the script, it did something. It’s like a sneak attack,” Lee added. She said that Song “did something that I didn’t think was possible, really. She showed so much about the certain realities of what it’s like to be living in America as an Asian woman in a very pure and unflinching way. But it was like she did it in a way where she just made space for everything else that she wanted to do. So it wasn’t about checking off any boxes or explaining identity at all.”
If you want to catch up in time for awards season, here’s how to tune in.
Where can I watch?
For the time being, Past Lives is available for rent or purchase on digital on platforms like Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu.
Is it streaming?
Not yet, but the film will eventually stream on Max, thanks to a deal between the streamer and A24. Over 100 titles from the production company—including Everything Everywhere All at Once, Uncut Gems, and of course, Past Lives—will become available on the platform. We just don’t have an official streaming date yet.
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she’s listening to Lorde right now.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
