Latest / Daebak K-Rambles Podcast: K-drama Reviews / Past Lives | Full Movie Review / Ep. 46

Transcript

Past Lives | Full Movie Review / Ep. 46 · Daebak K-Rambles Podcast: K-drama Reviews

0:18
I'm Rico, and I'm Jessica. And this is the always, the
0:21
credit podcast, and the typical Rambo's podcast, where a couple
0:25
of friends review. The latest movies and Korean
0:28
dramas. Hey, Hey, hey, if you're
0:31
wondering, what the hell is going on your listening, to a
0:34
crossover episode /, / / /? Yeah.
0:39
Yeah. Manrico is my o.g. co-host of
0:42
taboc and even though his work schedule, takes him away from
0:45
being able to co-host, on tabacky, still producing every
0:49
single episode. And we usually talk about movies
0:52
weekly on the always, the critic podcast.
0:54
So Rico, they don't think people have heard you since the
0:57
Vincenzo review. Been a while.
1:01
I'll yeah, it's been a while. Yeah, so thank you for having me
1:05
back first off. Ya gotta goes without saying but
1:09
yeah, and yeah, I've it's been hard to like do more kdramas and
1:18
I am excited though. Later this season, I will be, I
1:21
will be joining you for an episode.
1:23
So we'll save that for later for people who are listening.
1:28
But yeah, I'm really excited to To be able to do a crossover
1:31
episode. I always remember from BoJack
1:35
Horseman where where mr. Peanut butter is like Bojack,
1:42
what are you doing here? What is this, our crossover
1:44
episode? And so I always think of that
1:47
line. So I'm really excited, I'm
1:50
really excited to talk about what we're going to talk about
1:53
today. Yeah, we're here to review an
1:55
824 movie that I've been super anxious to watch for a really
1:59
long time. And because of the wide release,
2:02
casual, we weren't able to see it until today today.
2:07
Yeah this is where only a few hours removed from this movie
2:10
that movie is past lives. We saw just this afternoon with
2:14
a stomach full of delicious, Korean food as well.
2:17
So we were poised to watch this a24 actually reached out to us
2:22
and offered us free tickets to see it.
2:23
So that was a really cool moment to get that email.
2:27
Now, I'm really excited to review this.
2:30
I'm so excited but housekeeping first house.
2:33
I just think if this is your first time listening, go ahead
2:35
and subscribe to your favorite podcast app.
2:38
We're on Apple podcast, Spotify, and many more.
2:41
If you do like us, go ahead and give us a review on Apple, Pie,
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cast, and Spotify five stars goes a long way for us.
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Come and check us out on social media to stay up to date on our
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And lastly, if you're a fan please, please consider becoming
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3:01
You can check out the page on patreon.com slash always critic,
3:04
pod. And shout out to our patrons,
3:06
Curtis bail, Cindy CD. Alana gray is Lorna Li Sammy and
3:10
Kaitlyn, you guys are awesome. Yes, thank you for being such
3:14
loyal supporters. So today, we are going to talk
3:17
about the movie Past lives, the new 824 film.
3:20
Jessica, why don't you let us know what the synopsis is.
3:23
I got you. The synopsis reads Nora and hey
3:25
song Too. Deeply connected childhood
3:27
friends are rest apart after Nora's family, emigrated from
3:31
South Korea, 20 years later, they are reunited for one
3:34
fateful week as they confront Notions of love and Destiny.
3:39
Yes. This movie is directed by a
3:41
first-time director saline song. She also wrote the movie and
3:47
it's a very pared-down cast but that's what makes this movie as
3:50
good as it is. We have Gretel e.
3:53
We have teal. Yo, yo, yo, I'm sorry, Paul.
3:57
You told you? Yeah.
4:00
Okay. Yeah.
4:00
So you and I mean I would love to be t 0 but gotcha, animal
4:07
sounds like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
4:10
Oh we got t 0 over here. Ya know.
4:13
And then John magaro and moon is its owner.
4:18
Yeah, got it. All right.
4:21
So how is this doing with critics and box?
4:25
Office is a small movie. I know Mom movie Indie movie and
4:28
the box office is just 3.5 million dollars worldwide, since
4:32
opening. But the Rotten Tomatoes score,
4:34
let me tell you 97% critic score.
4:38
And in 92% audience score, everybody loves this movie.
4:43
The critics consensus reads a remarkable debut for
4:46
writer-director Saline. Song past lives uses the bonds
4:49
between its sensitively, sketched, Central characters to
4:51
support trenchant observations on The Human Condition.
4:56
So, with that being said, Jessica, what are you Earl
5:00
thoughts. We go on past lives so my
5:04
general thoughts. So I adore what this movie did?
5:10
Okay, this is such a for me it's a relatable story.
5:16
Hmm. And whether it's from the house
5:20
own character, uh-huh. Or the Arthur character.
5:24
I can find relatability in both of them.
5:26
I think it's so Well written, I think it's emotionally complex.
5:34
Yes it is. It tugs at the heartstrings.
5:38
It is its Melancholy mmm-hmm in the form of movie.
5:44
Yes. And I could not like there's
5:47
moments in this movie where I was like feeling for each and
5:51
every character. I also had moments where I was
5:56
feeling that secondhand embarrassment or second hand
5:59
off. Witness for characters, right as
6:01
well because these are situations, you would not want
6:05
to be in yourself. No.
6:06
And it just makes the entire thing awkward.
6:10
I really, really love this movie and yeah, it's easily one of the
6:15
best movie experiences that I've had so far this year.
6:19
Oh, wow, without a doubt. And I can't wait to talk more
6:24
about like the actual like details of what really spoke.
6:29
Oak to me and what also I enjoyed about the movie as well.
6:33
But what about you Jessica? So I was looking forward to this
6:36
movie ever since I found out that it was coming out this
6:39
year. It's an 824 production, we are
6:42
huge fans of a 24 and even if we don't like the 824 movie we
6:47
respect the studio and we respect the guts that it takes
6:52
to put something out. That isn't quite for everybody.
6:56
I am not familiar with saline song again, this is her
6:58
directorial debut but I am familiar with tall you who plays
7:02
hey Stones character because I had seen him in love to hate you
7:04
which is a Netflix original kdrama that came out earlier
7:08
this year and I really loved him in that.
7:10
I also evidently have seen him in the kdrama chocolate.
7:16
I can't tell you what character you wasn't, I had no idea.
7:21
Maybe I was just was focusing on the two leads in the kdrama
7:24
chocolate or something, but I felt terrible that he had like a
7:29
large role in that. I don't remember any of it.
7:32
But anyway, I love that. It's a pair of downcast.
7:35
It makes me think that this is a character study.
7:38
It's about these people and their relationships, and it's
7:42
not so much about giant. Plot were giant set pieces were
7:47
just intimate with these three characters, essentially, and
7:53
every piece of promo that came out for past lives.
7:56
I was eating it up, I was so excited and I knew that this
8:01
movie was sort of going to break me into pieces, and put me back.
8:04
Together the last time that that happened to me was Blue Bayou.
8:09
Yes, which was surprisingly, your number one movie of 2022.
8:13
Yeah, yeah. 20:22 write notes with maybe 20 21.
8:17
Yeah, 20 21. It was so great.
8:21
And I, I'm just been chasing that sort of heavy-handed drama
8:28
that makes you think about life that makes you sad, but then
8:33
makes Little bit hopeful at the same time.
8:36
Yes. And this movie Past lives does
8:40
give me that same vibe. It is.
8:46
I said what did I say when I walked out of the theater?
8:48
I think I said that I got emotionally manhandled for an
8:52
hour and 45 minutes and I love the movie.
8:59
I love what it says, I love how you can't just root for a single
9:03
character, you're sort of rooting for all of them and they
9:06
all have competing interests and totally different views on this
9:10
situation that they're in and that is really difficult.
9:14
What to do because I feel like in most movies you have a person
9:17
that you're rooting for our, you understand the most.
9:20
And for some reason, this movie allows you in to each character
9:28
in a very intimate personal way and you feel for each one of
9:32
them and you can't decide who has the right of way.
9:38
They all do. Yes, they do.
9:40
They all do. It's so great.
9:42
And I love the dialogue. We mentioned this to, we were
9:45
standing outside the theater, like the dialogue is so great
9:48
10/10. It was really well, written.
9:52
And what I appreciate about it is that it's not anything along
9:57
the lines of something like Aaron Sorkin, where it's like,
10:00
flowery prose, and Michael would never speak.
10:03
Like this Aaron Sorkin stuff, you're like, people don't speak
10:06
like this, and That stuff is well written and you can enjoy
10:09
it and everything. But this has a sense of realness
10:14
to it, like, yes, how people talk to each other and, you
10:18
know, they're not afraid of taking their time having pauses
10:23
just like a natural conversation would as well.
10:26
Because, you know, in movies movies, tend to, you know,
10:30
exaggerate the truth. So people are flinging back and
10:33
forth lines of dialogue with no thought going into You what
10:38
they're about to say, you know, they just like zingers left and
10:41
right and you know, which is not real.
10:44
People weren't that quick in real life.
10:46
No, they have to think about things how to respond to certain
10:50
sentences, how to respond to certain actions and this movie
10:54
takes its time. In it allows, these characters
10:58
to be in the moment and be able to respond, sometimes not in the
11:05
best way because they're responding in real time.
11:07
I'm type of thing. That's the type of dialogue that
11:09
there that we're having in this movie, and I appreciate that
11:14
type of dialogue because you feels real, it feels like
11:17
characters who live in a world that is challenging them
11:23
challenging them, every moment. There is something that these
11:30
characters are experiencing in their own heads about how
11:34
they're perceiving the scenario and how They're perceiving each
11:39
other. You know, Arthur kind of has a
11:44
bit of a pedestal type of view of Nora.
11:51
Yeah, I think that he views himself less than or almost like
11:55
undeserving of Nora. Ah, I see, I see and that plays
12:00
out in the movie and then you have Nora who doesn't think that
12:04
highly of herself, you know, that high, you know, she still
12:09
driven and she still motivated to, you know, do the best that
12:13
she can in her profession and her work, but she does not view
12:18
herself as like a prize the way Arthur is describing her in the
12:22
movie, and then how soon he is, very, very different pedestal
12:30
different pedestal and Arthur kind of puts them in there.
12:35
Because, without meaning him, he kind of has like this idea of
12:40
this other guy. The, the lost one, the one that
12:44
got away. Yeah.
12:45
And so there's these different pedals that people are putting
12:49
each. On even how song to Nora, like,
12:53
it's a girl that he fell in love with when he was a child, and he
12:57
still has this view of her these years later.
13:01
So, it's, these contract' the, these different ideas that are
13:07
going up against one another, and they're challenging.
13:11
What is love, what is life and how do those go together in the
13:16
relationship between these three people?
13:18
Mmm? So I love the way you put that
13:21
and I'm not going to add anything to it.
13:23
I will delve a little bit into the cage drama of it all because
13:27
I feel like this movie is very much for the kdrama audience and
13:31
if you are a huge cage, I'm a fan as if you're a fan of this
13:35
podcast and tabak and stuff and you follow This movie has roots
13:40
in kdrama and you have giant time jumps in there.
13:44
You have the Met as children Trope.
13:47
You have The One That Got Away Trope.
13:49
You have a playground scene for crying out loud.
13:52
You have the whole New York thing which engage Rama.
13:56
New York is like a curse word a little bit because at some point
13:59
someone fucks off to New York and you're like, why they were
14:02
supposed to be together and you have that here, right?
14:05
So there's a lot of things floating in The Ether that Our
14:10
sort of reconfigured in an a20 for Indie movie with only three
14:17
players in it right. You know, and I can't tell and
14:22
this is what's cool is if I look at it through a kdrama lens, I
14:25
can't tell who's the second male lead.
14:27
Oh, that's like a totally good. That's yeah, good.
14:33
Oh man. I didn't even think of it like
14:35
that. Yeah, but you're right.
14:37
You're right about that. I really like that.
14:41
The movie does play around with time a little bit in terms of
14:46
just placing Us in different parts of their lives.
14:50
Mmm, gives us a sense of how they change from early on when
14:56
their children to, when they're basically teens or not teens,
15:00
I'm sorry, like, just out of college fresh out of college.
15:04
And then another jump when they're like fully grown mature.
15:09
Adults. At least.
15:10
Yeah, we feel that they are and just to show how they've
15:16
changed. Obviously, that's one but also,
15:19
how they keep looking back? Time is a factor in life and
15:26
love? Yes, yes.
15:29
I would say that if not to like it, like, super personal, like,
15:35
I don't worry if you want to go there, I'm here.
15:38
I could totally see Myself, in terms of just going looking back
15:45
and the what if, yes, there are certain people in your life that
15:51
you run into that you interact with that, come across your
15:56
life. That you feel like there was
15:59
something there That Got Away. Hmm and I have felt that I have
16:07
now going now thinking about It's like well, you know, it's
16:11
something that happened, you know, and I've lived with the
16:16
fact that it never happened. Nothing ever came from it but
16:20
that's not the case for everybody.
16:21
Some people live in the past when it comes to eat, they live
16:26
in the past because that is where the memories are those all
16:31
the good things are remembered, all the bad things are
16:34
forgotten. All the things are bad, things
16:37
are ignored just got chills, and And that's what this movie is
16:41
really good. At portraying is, like, how so
16:44
long has this romanticized version of Nora, and he still
16:50
views everything through those rose-colored glasses?
16:54
Absolutely. And I also feel like, touching
16:57
on the romance of his songs characters that he is a romantic
17:01
and I don't necessarily feel like, Nora is a romantic, no,
17:05
she doesn't feel like a romantic and there's a particular
17:07
conversation that we can talk about in the spoiler section.
17:09
In that leans into that where they have totally different
17:14
views on what their past life could have been exactly.
17:18
Yeah, that that's a good conversation.
17:20
Because you see the dichotomy there of the two, and how they
17:26
view themselves, and how they view each other in the context
17:32
of the what if? Yeah.
17:35
And I love the last thing I'll say before, we can rate the show
17:38
out of 5. So 2 bottles is number one.
17:42
Watch it. Number two, I love how they
17:45
bring in the theme of Destiny or feet because that is one of the
17:50
most romantic Notions that you can have about love and the
17:57
whole concept of what did we do in our past lives, to get us to
18:02
where we are today? Talking about, About the sort of
18:06
Buddhist belief of reincarnation, and what you do
18:10
Karma, what you do in your past, life will affect how you are and
18:13
how you live in the present. And this whole thing of I think
18:19
in Korean dramas have a have this concept, a lot to wear
18:24
something. Good will happen to a character
18:26
and they'll be like, you must have saved the country in your
18:29
past life and it's sort of a saying that crops up every so
18:33
often in kdramas. And you don't think anything of
18:35
it as a Westerner, because we don't really subscribe to that
18:39
belief of reincarnation. Or even that sort of, even if
18:43
we're not Buddhist, we don't subscribe to that hole.
18:49
Superstition. No I think here is a in Western
18:54
audiences. I think.
18:56
Either I'm Destiny is still one. That has a certain belief to it,
19:02
but I yes more. It's about the will of a person
19:06
and the desire of a person is more of the driving Factor.
19:10
Hmm. I will it.
19:12
So I can change my destiny. Exactly is a huge part of our
19:15
Western culture. Yeah.
19:17
Because we are so and this is something.
19:19
Just from growing up, you know, you, you know, you what?
19:25
It's the term. You build yourself up from your
19:28
bootstraps, whatever. The pull yourself up by your
19:31
bootstraps. Yeah.
19:32
And you are self-made, like nose terminal that terminology not
19:37
only carries over from what you do in your own life, whether
19:41
it's financially personally. But it also romantically as well
19:46
because you are the one who can Basically will it into
19:52
existence? That that is the person for me,
19:54
you know. I will be with that person or,
19:58
you know, like it's not just about fate or destiny or is
20:03
there sort of out of your control, right?
20:05
No and Western, especially American light.
20:08
Like, if we want to cut and dry Americans, really believe that
20:13
they are the main character in their story in the story.
20:18
So that's driving Factor there. So yeah.
20:22
So it's totally different from the concept that is introduced
20:26
in past lives. And I love, I just love the
20:31
Romance of the past lives stuff. Yeah.
20:35
Not the movie like, just past lives.
20:37
Lowercase. Right path.
20:38
On ya, Lor case. Exactly.
20:40
So before we get into spoilers and it's knife deep.
20:46
We're going to take a page from the daebak.
20:49
Yeah. Okay, Rambles and okay.
20:50
How many Soju bottles? I would give it five out of five
20:54
Soju bottles and giving it four and a half out of five.
20:59
Oh, you're basically there, I'm basically there.
21:01
And this is just me saying, like a movie.
21:05
I never gave it a perfect five on the first watch.
21:08
Oh, okay. So it's your own philosophy as
21:12
my own philosophy. Yeah.
21:13
Even if I love the movie, just loved loved loved the movie and
21:17
I still will give it a four and a half.
21:19
Because Cuz that extra half is re-watch ability of.
21:23
Yeah, yeah, go back, do I visit it and everything like that.
21:27
So yeah, there's some movies that are too painful to revisit.
21:30
Like, for me Blue Bayou is one of those girls like I don't know
21:33
if I can watch it again. I'm Scott is a five for you but
21:36
you're like I don't know if I can even if I can handle it.
21:38
So the this one, I definitely feel like it's rewatchable to
21:42
me, almost like a comfort movie. I don't know if you guys have
21:46
these movies where you like them and you don't want to share
21:49
them. Yeah.
21:51
Ooh, interesting because I have a list of movies that I like to
21:55
watch by myself. They just they really fulfill
21:59
something in me and they are not necessarily, you know, popular
22:04
movies or movies that are easily available to people and I just
22:10
love watching them by myself. I don't know.
22:13
Do you have stuff like that? You have me.
22:15
I don't know if I have anything that is like, where you would
22:18
say, maybe it's not as well known, but there are movies that
22:22
I did. I do prefer to watch by myself,
22:26
and if you say them out loud, people be like, that's a movie
22:28
that you like to wash my ears off, and they start judging you.
22:30
I don't even like, to even broadcast with the movies, are
22:33
broadcast, what their personal? It's, yeah, exactly.
22:37
And we don't have to mention it here and we don't have to not
22:39
mention what they are, but I feel like this movie falls into
22:41
that category. Where I might have it on Blu-ray
22:44
and then Wednesday night, 10 p.m.
22:48
I can't fall asleep or something put on past lines, and just in
22:52
my Fields. Yes, yeah, I agree.
22:56
So great. Alright, so we're going to go
22:58
ahead and we're gonna talk spoilers for past lives, right?
23:03
After this, the greatest trick Houston, we have a problem.
23:08
I The devil ever pulled was convincing the world.
23:18
Handle the truth. He didn't exist.
23:21
What's in the box? Alright, so let's go ahead.
23:25
Let's talk spoilers and deep dive on our thoughts on past
23:30
lives. Okay.
23:30
So Rico they start the movie in Korea.
23:35
Possibly. Yes /.
23:37
It's so, and so, and so, and I can't remember the 90s, we have
23:42
to backtrack, I four years ago. So 4,000 no no 1999.
23:49
Yeah, yeah, right. At the turn of the century.
23:52
If If we're using 2023 as the as the Baseline then yeah, it would
23:55
be okay 1999. Perfect.
23:58
So we start there and you see her interacting with his song
24:03
and you see her picking her English name and you see her
24:06
parents who I'm sure you've seen these to gawk retractors before
24:11
their immigrating to Canada and the mom.
24:17
I feel like it's very interesting because she says,
24:20
who do you like at school? She says Hey song and she says,
24:24
maybe I'll marry him one day and she's like why would you say
24:28
that? And Nora says, he'll do
24:32
anything. I ask I think that Garnet a
24:36
chuckle from you in the theater because I don't know.
24:40
Do you ever feel like that's happened to you or like this
24:42
person will do everything. Anything I ask you just whipped.
24:45
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not gonna lie about that.
24:50
Yeah. Rightfully been that feeling of
24:52
whipped up, do anything for that person, right?
24:55
It's like very realistic and I hate to use that term on a
25:00
kdrama podcast but it's realistic.
25:04
And they go on this date in the park, in the rain. and this
25:10
scene of them playing in the brain at this very interesting
25:15
playground, which is not a typical playground, I would say,
25:18
It looks like a Memorial Park or some sort of some sort of like
25:22
artists abstract art abstract art, they are climbing on this
25:26
rock Monument that looks like an art piece and there's this
25:30
abstract face and it's two halves of the face.
25:34
You can see in the middle of the art piece is split by a tree
25:39
that's in the foreground. And they're each playing on
25:42
their own sides of the face and it's as if there are two halves
25:47
of the same person. Very much, a soul mates,
25:51
scenario the missing face of the other.
25:54
Yeah. And they're split by something
25:57
like nature as something as natural as a tree just life just
26:02
life just life. Yeah, and I thought it was a
26:05
beautiful scene of them, you would.
26:07
I mean, you can just look at the scene for what it is and take it
26:10
at face. Value is two kids having this
26:12
like 12 year old date, their moms are there and they're just
26:16
enjoying each other's company. There's nothing at all.
26:20
Sort of overtly romantic about it.
26:22
Hmm, no, no, it's 12 year olds, it's natural very natural and I
26:26
love the conversation that the moms have where she says, I
26:29
wanted to, you know, give her a happy memory here before we
26:34
emigrate and the other Mom, hey songs moms, like, why are you
26:37
emigrating? Your husband is a film director
26:39
and you're an artist. Why you have a good life here
26:42
basically and it's not like they have to leave to pursue what
26:47
they want to do or that right back there.
26:53
What's the word like they're struggling in Korea?
26:55
They're not Dana and her mom, nor his mom says, if you leave
26:59
something behind you gain something too.
27:04
Which I could probably sit here for two days and not have a
27:08
clear-cut answer on how I feel about that line, you can
27:12
interpret it, any number of ways.
27:14
It's a very interesting thing to say, of course she's an artist
27:19
she's a creative so is her husband.
27:21
Yeah. So if feels like they are coming
27:24
at this from a different way than maybe a very grounded
27:29
individual would. Yeah, because I think a grounded
27:32
individual and by that At someone who has a profession,
27:37
that would keep them in one place, whether it's medical
27:40
field or whether its Financial, that is something that they
27:45
would be more realistic about. Yeah, situation.
27:48
And be like, no, we're going to stay here because this is where
27:52
our family is. This is what we, you know, give
27:56
whatever given scenario or right.
27:58
Is the reason why you have to move is because the financial
28:01
situation is tough. We have a better job right
28:04
there. More realistic.
28:05
Yes, versus a creative. Of the mom says, if you leave
28:09
something behind you, gain something to ya.
28:12
What a thing to say it is because it's, it's, it's not
28:16
someone who clearly is not attached to the current, hmm.
28:22
They are willing to sacrifice their current in exchange for
28:27
something new. And that new can be better?
28:31
Yeah, to be one of the sense that they're don't want to be.
28:35
They don't want to be stagnant. Yeah.
28:39
And they are interested in change and new things, and that
28:45
does tie into Nora later on, we have a conversation between Nora
28:50
and hey, song who he asks her, what price are you chasing now?
28:58
Because when she's constantly changing her answer.
29:00
Yeah, because when she's 12 a Nobel Prize, and when she when
29:06
they talk again, when they're like 24, Or she's chasing a
29:10
Pulitzer. Yeah.
29:12
And so then now, what are you chasing now?
29:14
At Tony Tony. So it's a constant evolving and
29:20
not just thinks that Agnon tent with your dreams, or your
29:24
desires. You're pushing yourself.
29:27
Yeah, absolutely. And that I love that.
29:29
That's where like a lot of creatives.
29:32
Do live in that of like they're pushing themselves to achieve
29:36
more. Hmm.
29:37
And that more can look. In so many different ways.
29:40
It can look different for different people but it's the
29:44
chase of creating something. Yeah, yeah, and that's what the
29:49
family's doing. They're creating a new life.
29:51
Mmm. So it's not in the artistic.
29:54
It's in the familial that they're creating something new.
29:58
Hmm. I also feel like when she says
30:01
other, this is very profound to me and the kids ask why?
30:04
She's leaving. She says they don't give Koreans
30:06
the Nobel, Peace Prize in literature.
30:10
Wow. Yeah and I was like my eyebrows
30:13
shot up. I was like, oh my God, what does
30:16
that say about notoriety and acclaim?
30:25
You just don't get it. If you're from a small country,
30:28
like Korea, right? You don't get it.
30:31
If you don't speak English, you don't get you.
30:33
I mean, there's so many things and it's terribly unfair.
30:37
But she says, it's so matter-of-factly.
30:39
And I also feel like what we were touching on which is just
30:45
change, right? I feel like she means that.
30:48
Also, that her and her family are big fish in a small pond and
30:54
what she needs. What her family wants is a
30:56
bigger Pond. Yeah.
30:58
More options, different lifestyle.
31:01
Because if you look at kdramas and all sorts of media, that
31:07
comes out of Korea, you might have noticed that everyone looks
31:10
ethnically Korean, they're very homogeneous society.
31:13
And over here in the west, it's not that way at all.
31:17
It's a huge Melting Pot. There's people from all walks of
31:19
life, all sorts of backgrounds, mixed kids, who are Korean
31:23
American, or Korean. And Hispanic?
31:26
Like, I've seen so many kids that are like Korean Cuban or
31:29
something like that. Really cool blending of cultures
31:34
over here. And I think that's what they're
31:38
chasing, right. Yeah.
31:40
They don't want to be in a small pond with everyone.
31:43
Looking the same and talking the same and having the same ideas.
31:47
I love how when Nora's and school, she's getting criticism
31:51
and feedback on her play from all kinds of people that are in
31:56
the room, right? Yeah, it's interesting to dig
32:01
deep and see I would love to hear what people think about
32:05
this line of like, Why she's leaving and Koreans don't win.
32:07
The Nobel Prize in literature and stuff like that as a 12 year
32:11
old. That's a very interesting thing
32:14
to say. I don't think most of our
32:16
viewers are thinking about Nobel prizes in literature, know it.
32:20
They are not. And something that it struck me
32:24
and but it definitely struck you is that when they're 12 years
32:28
old. The last scene of them.
32:30
They're walking home. Mmm quiet.
32:33
It's the last time that there he's walking her home.
32:35
Yeah. Yeah.
32:36
And at a certain point there road diverges.
32:41
Yeah, she she takes the right. He goes left and hers is up a
32:48
set of stairs, a flight of stairs.
32:50
His is more just straight. Mmm, and I think you had a way
32:55
of like how you viewed it. Yes, because I felt like this
32:59
was very representative of this upward track that coming to the
33:03
West becomes for her. That she sort of ascending in
33:07
her life while he stays in Korea and stays in place and they have
33:13
wildly different lives. I love the the sort of visual
33:17
analogy that's presented to us in that scene.
33:20
They're not just separating, they're going on completely
33:23
different life paths and I feel like her moving to the West Was
33:28
a positive thing for her. Not sure if she could have
33:30
achieved everything that you wanted to boss.
33:32
Staying by staying in Korea. Exactly.
33:37
And then he on the opposite Spectrum stays in Korea lives.
33:41
A fine life butts looks unfulfilled Yes, it seems
33:48
unfulfilled and empty. Yeah, like something is missing
33:52
dispassionate. Because he's passionate about
33:55
one thing. Yeah, her.
33:59
Yes. So we do get a jump time to.
34:04
We are now in New York Norris 24.
34:10
She had just moved there because she's a writer.
34:13
So she's trying to break into the world of playwriting.
34:17
So, for whether it's Broadway, just Place.
34:21
Well, we do see him in the military.
34:23
Yep. During The Huntsman to, which is
34:26
a huge contrast. Yeah.
34:28
And then he gets out of the military and he's still in
34:29
school going to school for engineering.
34:32
So again a little bit like he's on the he's behind her.
34:37
Right, right? He had to go to the military.
34:40
It's something everybody has to do all the males have to do in
34:42
Korea and meanwhile, she's already done with school.
34:46
Yes, completely done. Complete already out.
34:50
Chasing her dream. Yeah.
34:52
And but this is where we see that he's been looking for her
34:58
like through Facebook. Yes I'm did.
35:01
You have Whiplash looking at the old interface the Facebook and
35:05
the Skype noises. Yo So there is a couple things
35:09
on the computer that I was just like, whoa, the the interface
35:13
through me back to 2012. Yeah, and the sounds and the, I
35:19
remember when you would send a friend request on Facebook and
35:22
you can send that message leading right to it and I'm just
35:26
like, wow, it's take us back to those times again, like the
35:31
simpler time this so you can poke somebody on Facebook.
35:36
So yeah. So, So we're in that sense that
35:39
he is looking for her. Mmm.
35:41
And she she on a whim because she's talking with her mom.
35:48
What was that kid that I was, you know, had a crush on and so
35:51
she meant it. So he starts, she starts looking
35:54
and notices that he's looking for an ass.
35:57
He asked about her on her dad's like video page on Facebook.
36:02
He has like a film. Yeah, he has a page, so then The
36:07
end up reconnecting and they're doing Skype calls and you can
36:12
see that there is an attraction building chemistry, a
36:18
familiarity, almost like a longing know.
36:22
For sure between them is sort of Addicting to see and I there's
36:27
so many of the shots. They just kept rolling.
36:29
Felt like they didn't cut. They didn't cut know and it felt
36:32
like I was intruding. Great.
36:36
I felt like I was like a flower Well, and I was like, I gotta go
36:39
this is a lot. You get those natural rhythms.
36:44
Like if it's somebody you haven't spoken to in a long
36:46
time. Yes.
36:48
Like you, you know, you're excited to talk to them but you
36:52
you don't know what to say because you don't want to say
36:54
the wrong thing. And just there's that and they
36:58
show that they let you live in that moment of like them, you
37:04
know, searching for the words and then they both start
37:06
laughing because they They both realize that they're both trying
37:09
to say something and for out neither one of them wants to
37:13
come on, too strong. It's a lie.
37:16
It's a lot in that it's a lot. There's so much subtext there
37:20
and they both feel it, the audience feels it certainly and
37:23
when text starts getting in the way and the long distance of it
37:27
all starts messing with them. Yeah, it's so tough to see, so
37:33
tough to watch and The Break-Up call.
37:37
You could hear a pin drop in the theater.
37:38
I was squirming in my seat. Me and Miguel were like hitting
37:42
each other. We could not stand it.
37:45
And the way that the scene is shot, where both of them are
37:49
kind of in the dark, there's something so nice about all use
37:55
acting. In the throughout throughout the
37:59
movie. But in this particular scene
38:01
where it's like, he's about to cry and he's trying to keep it
38:06
together but there's this sort of Shell Shocked look on his
38:11
face. And you cannot help, but feel so
38:17
sad. For him and not necessarily for
38:21
Nora who initiated The Break-Up and they're both like.
38:25
There's he says there's nothing to be sorry about, because we
38:30
weren't even dating, but, and it's like, but there was a lot
38:35
of emotional investment there. And I think everyone who is
38:39
watching can relate to this. Where you feel like you've
38:45
invested emotionally in someone and it's you know, coming to an
38:51
end or they're moving on and you're like what do I do?
38:54
I feel so sorry for this situation.
38:56
I feel like I'm like it's a breakup or you can or you
39:01
realize that you can't move forward right?
39:04
You're at an impasse you're at an impasse because Nora realizes
39:09
it she's like they both understand the gravity of her
39:12
saying. Let's not talk for a while,
39:15
right? Because she, she wants to start
39:18
her life in New York and she's hoping that, you know, he can
39:23
visit her, but it's going to be a long time.
39:25
And same thing on the other end, like he's wondering when she'll
39:30
come to Seoul again. And again, like both of them
39:35
understand the others point of, I have a life here.
39:39
Mmm, and I would love for you to be here.
39:43
But I can't go there and it's heartbreaking because you see
39:48
that there's that connection between the two and you can file
39:53
that if they had made it work. If somehow they made it work
39:59
like it would have been a long lasting relationship.
40:01
It would have been magical, it would have, but they're not able
40:05
to do. It is your deep connection
40:07
there, there's roots. Oh, for sure.
40:10
So, From that moment, we get there.
40:16
We get, Nora goes off to a retreat.
40:20
An artist Retreat. So like, there's a house
40:23
residency, exactly where multiple artists are.
40:26
All living in the same house. Each one has room and this is
40:30
where she meets Arthur And they start spending time together,
40:35
and they're getting along very well.
40:38
And this is where we are introduced to the concept of
40:42
Indian. Yeah.
40:44
And if you want to like talk about, okay, so here's the
40:47
direct quote from Nora. She says, there's a word in
40:51
Korean inion. It means providence or fate, but
40:55
it's specifically about relationships between people.
40:58
It's an Indian, if two strangers walk by each other on the
41:01
street, And their clothes accidentally brush because it
41:04
means there must have been something between them in their
41:07
past lives and aha past lives. They said the name of the movie
41:10
in the movie. She's goes on if two people get
41:13
married, they say it's because there have been eight thousand
41:16
layers of Indian over eight thousand lifetimes.
41:20
Yeah, that's like that's a concept of living in the past
41:26
like, or reincarnation and that Dear Pat your, the what Have now
41:32
is due to a history, a shared history.
41:37
Yes. And again, beautiful Concepts
41:41
and I love the conversation that they have later at the bar,
41:43
which kind of informs like what Indian could have been for them.
41:47
But she sort of deflates this romantic notion of inion when
41:53
she's talking to Arthur cuz he's like do you believe in that and
41:56
she's like believe in what? And then she says this is just
42:01
something that And say to seduce someone.
42:04
And we started freaking out all three of us are like because
42:09
that she's obviously meaning to seduce Arthur in this moment for
42:13
sure. And it happens to get together
42:17
and you don't I have no qualms with Arthur.
42:22
I feel like Arthur is a bit of a victim.
42:25
Yeah. Now okay, if I could say just
42:29
real quick I think that there is some of it is kind of at Zone
42:34
doing kind of what? Hold on, hold on.
42:37
Let me just explain, I think that he reads into the situation
42:43
and he reads it correctly. But I also think that he really
42:50
lays it on thick of like oh what you guys could have had and what
42:56
you guys could have been and having I me getting in the way
43:00
of that. Like the way he talks about
43:01
himself he feels he kind of me. Yourself inferior in the
43:06
situation and he puts himself in as an inferior person with Nora
43:11
and in the eyes of hey, so as well.
43:16
So, so a little bit, is him his kind of doing on it?
43:22
Well, kind of, I see what you're saying, you know what I mean?
43:25
I saw this not fully his fault or anything.
43:27
He still has a victim because there's thing.
43:30
I mean that happened. I'm just like, I don't know.
43:34
No man. I don't know if they should be
43:36
happening but yeah, yeah, we'll get to those.
43:39
But I do feel that yes, he is a victim but there's you know, one
43:42
or two things that I feel like Arthur kind of put into the mind
43:49
of Nora all Oh, I see. Yeah, I sea.
43:55
I can. Yeah, I feel that you Miguel
43:58
said something interesting where he was like, he knew Arthur was
44:02
insecure before his son. Showed up.
44:08
I can agree with that. And there are certain things
44:10
that he says that mean to say, oh, I've been thinking about
44:15
this and I just haven't voiced this concern that I have. and
44:20
one of those things is that whole thing of her dreaming in
44:23
Korean, Yes, that where he says direct quote, you know, you only
44:30
speak in Korean, when you talk in your sleep, you never sleep
44:33
talking English, you only dream in Korean most of the times, I
44:38
think it's cute sometimes. I don't know, I guess I get
44:41
scared. She asked him, why is he scared?
44:45
He says you dream in a language. I can't understand.
44:48
It's like there's this whole place inside of you, where I
44:50
can't go. Which is I just want to leave
44:57
that there and end the episode. But honestly it is such an, I
45:02
mean, emotional and profound thing to discuss is identity.
45:12
And how you Internally feel about your roots where you came
45:19
from, what you were, you know, culture is and he's saying, I
45:24
can't follow you into the deepest part of yourself, which
45:29
is your dreams, your subconscious.
45:33
Yeah. What do you I mean, how do you
45:35
respond to that as Nora? I would have no idea how to
45:38
respond to that. Exactly.
45:40
And I'm sorry, I mean, I had something she can't control it,
45:44
something he can't control, it's just sort of like it's a lament
45:48
fate. It's a lament of not being able
45:53
to control something in your life.
45:56
Well, I don't know if it's about control with Arthur actually
46:00
better yet as much as intimacy. Yeah.
46:03
Yeah, a bigger piece of intimacy.
46:07
Yes. Because, I mean they've already
46:09
gotten to the point that they're married.
46:11
They're married already. We're now 20, 12 years later.
46:13
They're in their mid-30s and you know he's saying I can't reach
46:20
you fully you're just Out Of Reach.
46:24
Yeah, and this is where he kind of like d values himself.
46:32
This is bright before he As this whole thing about her dreaming
46:35
Korean, he does devalue himself. And say I'm like this wyk, the
46:39
white guy that came in and separated you from this
46:41
childhood love. Your childhood sweetheart and
46:47
you're like, I'm separating you guys as well.
46:50
Yes. Is this the life that you
46:52
imagined is this? Is this what your parents would
46:55
have thought for you? Like some, you know, Jewish guy
47:00
from the East Village, living in this place here in a small
47:06
apartment, is this what they dreamed for you?
47:09
So he's putting himself, okay, dreams before he even talks
47:13
about. Her dream in Korean exactly.
47:16
So he's putting himself down because he thinks he's not good
47:21
enough. He thinks he's not gonna he's
47:22
not what was intended right? When the whole family packed up
47:26
and moved to Canada and then she moved to New York and this is
47:32
this is initiated from and you can even see this before.
47:37
So there's two instances there's the the immediate thing to
47:41
happen before where you know, they're getting ready for Bed
47:44
and heat. And she's talking about this was
47:46
discernible and like, oh, he's like masculine, but like in a
47:51
Korean way and like right, she's describing him.
47:54
You can see on his face like he is, it is a, it's a bloody Death
47:59
By A Thousand Cuts. Oh, this man is suffering
48:03
inside. Hearing this from his own wife,
48:06
hearing all this, but there's a glimpse of this before this and
48:11
it's After like, they're in bed and they're like, I want chicken
48:15
wings. So there they go out and they're
48:17
walking and you can see Nora's a little, you know, bothered by
48:22
something. And so Andrew ass or I'm sorry,
48:24
Arthur ass what's wrong. Is it, the is it the friend
48:30
thing? And she's like, yeah, and he's
48:33
like, oh, is that this week? Like he's already.
48:37
He already has a clocked on his radar.
48:41
And he and, and then on top of that later on, when she comes
48:47
home from visiting, hey song, he's playing is PS5 and Nora
48:53
says, you were right. He came to see me.
48:58
Yes. So obviously, Andrew Arthur had
49:01
already brought this up in a prior conversation.
49:05
He had already told her he's here to see you.
49:07
Exactly this. So this room It's me.
49:11
Oh God. It reminds me, I it's a stand-up
49:14
comedian that I've seen on Tick Tock, but he's basically says
49:17
like a guy will always clock another guy who obviously wants
49:25
to be with the girl. Hmm.
49:29
If you have a girlfriend and there's a guy in her life that
49:34
they're spending a lot of time, they'll clock it easy and
49:38
they'll bring it up early. They'll be like, hey, so I know
49:40
I noticed this guy so because the reason why they know is
49:45
because they have tried that stuff before too.
49:48
So they know how to clock it and they will let you know and
49:52
remind you of like hey that guy he wants to be with you, he's
49:56
not just your friend you know? And so that's like it kind of
50:00
reminded me of that stand-up thing.
50:02
What I like about Arthur and his song is that they're neither of
50:06
them are malicious. No.
50:10
Either one, this is hard to do, right?
50:13
That neither of them is sort of self-serving.
50:18
They're both just so genuine and in love with with Nora.
50:25
Otto real personal level. They both love her and I can't
50:30
feel necessarily like Arthur made it worse.
50:34
Irresponsible mistake with Nora. No I feel like all of his
50:38
concerns are absolutely valid. They are valid concerns.
50:41
Yes of course. And Language is so deep in
50:47
ingrained in people. That there's some things that if
50:54
you are with someone who doesn't speak your native language or
50:57
doesn't come from your culture, there are so many things are
50:59
gonna get lost in translation for sure.
51:02
And that's what Arthur represents and talks about,
51:06
especially with the dream conversation.
51:10
That he's like there is something that you to have that.
51:13
I don't have with you. Yeah language and I could never
51:18
have ouch. So it's it's tugging at my
51:24
heartstrings and I feel horrible for Arthur and Nora because
51:28
there's no way that she can share that with him and he even
51:32
says, this is why I'm learning Korean because I want to be
51:35
closer to you, right? Mmm, and I know you get annoyed.
51:39
He says she gets annoyed. With him, trying to learn
51:43
Korean. He wants to have a deeper sense
51:48
of intimacy with her. And he feels like this is the
51:51
way to do it. This is the way to do it and the
51:54
fact that she gets a little annoyed as a, I don't know if
51:56
that's a red flag or if that's just concerning to me would that
52:01
concern you? If you were with someone, they
52:03
didn't know Spanish and they try to learn Spanish for you?
52:05
Oh no. I would I would accept it.
52:08
And I would want that, that would be amazing because then it
52:11
would be something else that we could share.
52:13
Right. So the fact that fact that he
52:15
says she gets annoyed. Yeah, that's is a little bit
52:18
like Okay, let's talk about. Okay, so then together to New
52:25
York. So here song is now in New York,
52:29
I do have to say, I like the moments where he's in the bar
52:33
with his friends in Seoul. Yes.
52:36
And how we see them at different stages of life and how in the
52:39
very last stage, before he goes to your keys with his friends
52:41
and they're all in suits. They all have professional jobs
52:46
are all adults. Now, they're not punks in
52:49
college or have no jobs, right? They are in a completely
52:53
different stage of life. And I really appreciated the
52:57
joke where they say, oh, she's she's married, she married young
53:01
or whatever, they're talking about Nora and one friend, goes
53:04
you sorry bastard or something? What did you say?
53:08
Feel so bad for you? Yeah.
53:10
And you think he means because of the situation, right?
53:12
The One That Got Away the first That he's trying to reconnect
53:15
with and he brings up his phone. He says you're back.
53:19
You're gonna have rain the entire I find there's going to
53:22
be severe thunderstorms and the other friends like oh it really
53:25
says severe thunderstorm. Yeah, you started laughing that
53:29
part to 0. I is great.
53:32
If that little moment and when he arrives, of course, rainfall
53:37
and he feels like he is trapped in his hotel.
53:41
Like, oh, so you thought he was trapped in his Soto.
53:45
Well, at first, it felt like he was trapped there.
53:48
Well, the fuck does he has no other purpose in New York?
53:51
No, he doesn't. Then to see Nora.
53:53
Exactly, it's not like, he went to go sightseeing or, and
53:57
sightseeing, or anything by himself.
53:59
No good. So him eating his little muffin,
54:02
his help that scene of him eating the little muffin at the
54:05
table by himself was painful. Yes, it was painful to watch.
54:09
This is clearly a man who's on a mission, the awkwardness.
54:14
This is at an all-time high the second-hand embarrassment and I
54:18
am one of those people that I don't give a shit I'll eat
54:20
Wherever by myself. Oh yeah.
54:22
Me too. But watching him.
54:24
I was like I hope I don't look like that because it's like it
54:28
was very awkward and painful the scene of them walking around
54:36
when they finally meet. Okay.
54:37
Well let's talk about that. Like you lead it so they meet in
54:42
Central Park. I know exactly where that is in
54:44
central. Park the park and, you know,
54:49
he's a ball of nerves and finally, he hears her call him.
54:54
The I mean Toyota is doing so much waiting for her.
54:58
Yes, and he's just there and like he like looks into the
55:02
water to check his hair like, but he like does it like, really
55:05
slowly just to make sure every hair is in place and how he's
55:11
dressed backpacks? Yeah, we can click and There's
55:14
one thing that I love that the movie did and what the director
55:18
saline song did is they are standing next to each other
55:23
face-to-face and there's a cut to when they're at that play
55:29
like ground sculpture when they were 12 and at the cups right
55:34
back to them now, yeah. Just showing like the tacos are
55:41
reunited. Yeah, the two halves reunited.
55:44
And how close they are now. Hmm is as close as they were at
55:49
that moment when they were 12. And then, you know, you can see
55:54
Nora has a bit of a hesitation at first, but then she starts
56:00
laughing because she she she got a friend again, her friend is
56:06
back in her life and so she's happy that leads into the
56:09
stroll, through all the hug, which he doesn't quite hug her
56:14
back. This is a very cage, not want to
56:18
say kdrama because I feel like the Her in Korea is very
56:21
conservative, people don't hug or case in public.
56:25
And here in the west, this way more accepted.
56:27
So when Nora comes upon him and hugs him, and it's like a deep
56:30
hug, like a side hug or anything, he's sort of taken
56:35
aback by her coming. So close and hugging him.
56:37
Because that's something that pretty much only couples do in
56:41
Korea. Right?
56:42
Exactly. Or for family, so he doesn't hug
56:47
her back at first. It's like sort of awkward, but
56:51
He's okay with it and I don't know, it's a very interesting
56:56
way to bring them together. It's almost like, we're not
57:01
supposed to be there. Oh my God, I honestly feel like
57:07
an all these scenes. I'm not supposed to be there.
57:12
It's really tough. It's tough because right there
57:15
that leads into the scene of them walking through Dumbo in
57:20
New York which has the Carousel and everywhere all around them.
57:27
Couples couples everywhere, everywhere.
57:30
I thought it was a joke at first, like, only how do I put
57:34
it? Not a joke, but I thought it was
57:38
unintentional at first. Mmm.
57:41
And then the Seen keeps going and keeps going.
57:43
And I'm like, there's only couples only couples, only
57:46
couples around them. I love that touch.
57:50
And yeah. So they're obviously they're in
57:54
front of the carousel. I mean, there's it's a romantic
57:57
feeling just all around them. You know what is the couplers?
58:02
The the atmosphere, the background, you know, you have
58:06
the skyline of New York and then you have the carousel that
58:09
they're right in front of symbol.
58:11
Childhood. Yes, a symbol childhood and you
58:16
know their conversation, she's obviously poking to try to get
58:21
the reason he's there. Is he here?
58:23
Exactly. He's trying to she's trying to
58:25
get the reason she's trying to find out if he's doing anything
58:28
else and you know, you, you find you get the sense that.
58:33
Yeah, no, he's here for her that and that's it.
58:36
That's it to reconnect. So, Okay, so we've talked all
58:40
about that. I I want to go ahead and jump to
58:45
their next meeting date. They have what I would classify
58:49
as a date, like this feels like a date.
58:53
I'm not saying their daily but it feels like one.
58:56
They go out on the ferry. Then go.
58:58
They see the Statue of Liberty, you know.
59:02
They're taking pictures together, mom.
59:05
This feels like a dates like it's?
59:07
Yeah, it's crazy. You know, to me.
59:10
Yeah. And that leads into what I
59:13
cannot believe. Like they would even agree to do
59:17
this and it's meet the husband. Yeah, she takes him back to the
59:23
apartment. Yes.
59:24
And like he's likes owner. He's like, does he know about
59:28
me? Yeah.
59:29
Yes, you know and everything. So like obviously he's hesitant
59:36
and Arthur you know he are there's had reservations.
59:41
Since day one they won. And so when the door opens, you
59:45
see the exasperation on Arthur's face when the door opens?
59:50
Because he's facing the camera and he can hear the door behind
59:53
him open. Yeah.
59:54
And you see on his face like shit, here we go.
59:59
Yeah, it's happening. Believe this is happening and
1:00:02
the most awkward. Hello.
1:00:05
And that, and there's something so nice about Arthur.
1:00:09
Yes. In this moment where you can
1:00:11
see, See him change and sort of soften toward his song because
1:00:17
his song is not facing him. For when he walks in the door
1:00:21
and takes off his shoes and stuff, but then it has some
1:00:23
turns around and sees Arthur and there's no words exchanged.
1:00:30
But the look on his son's face is very open and genuine, not
1:00:36
malicious. And anyway, just sort of A nice
1:00:42
dude, right, exactly, I could not not a threat necessarily
1:00:48
yes, he's a threat but but not not either way of like
1:00:52
malicious. Like yeah, I'm here to steal
1:00:54
your girl, like doesn't honest, dude.
1:00:59
Yeah, and I feel like that disarms Arthur in Arthur's are
1:01:04
sort of like, I can't, I can't eat this book, this guy.
1:01:06
Yeah, can't hate him. He starts talking to him in
1:01:09
Korean Yes, and then when they're on their way to dinner
1:01:13
and so, what'd you guys do today, you know, H and O we went
1:01:17
on the ferry and Statue of Liberty and our oh, ever done
1:01:21
that. And then like, even though it's
1:01:25
like, we've been married all this time, we've never done that
1:01:27
for real. Are you sure?
1:01:28
Well, his son goes, you should do that with your husband and
1:01:30
she's like, takes a beat and she's like, have we really never
1:01:33
done that together? I'm like, I mean then that see,
1:01:37
it was because he's like, I've never been there.
1:01:39
I've lived there most evident never done it.
1:01:41
Oh my God. Yeah, like, that's what I'm
1:01:44
saying like that that interaction on the ferry.
1:01:48
Feels like something you would do on a date if you lived in New
1:01:52
York Because it is a dedicated time that you're on a boat,
1:01:56
like, there's nowhere to go. Mmm.
1:01:59
So you're there for a specified amount of time.
1:02:02
You are out on the water, you know, like, and you can tell
1:02:06
it's a beautiful day as well. Like those are the
1:02:10
characteristics of something that you would do with someone
1:02:13
that. See, I kind of read that
1:02:15
differently. Not that I didn't see it as a
1:02:17
date, but on this Ferry, they are moving around.
1:02:22
The Statue of Liberty. Right?
1:02:23
And seeing a different angle of her and when they're on the
1:02:25
other side of her, his son comments.
1:02:28
Oh, she's turned against us. And I was like, oh God, it's
1:02:35
like, it's very I like how, what can you not say about that line
1:02:40
and how you can interpret it? Yes, like America is sort of
1:02:43
turned against them. Like her being here is a
1:02:46
hindrance to their relationship, maybe the freedom that Statue of
1:02:52
Liberty and encompasses wasn't everything was cracked up to be
1:02:57
for these two would-be lovers. Yes.
1:03:01
Yeah. Because they don't have the
1:03:03
freedom to be together right now.
1:03:05
They don't, they really don't this leads us.
1:03:09
Happy like this is probably the biggest scene of the movie here.
1:03:13
And it's in the bar, the bar scene and the movie opens up on
1:03:17
the scene. The movie opens up with you can
1:03:21
hear like it's commentary talking about them.
1:03:24
Yeah. Across the borrow.
1:03:25
What do you think their relationship is?
1:03:27
Yeah, and because they see the three of them and they're
1:03:29
talking about it was like oh maybe he's there and Interpreter
1:03:33
it's like 4:00 in the morning in the bar like and you know
1:03:36
they're like talking and stuff like that trying to figure out
1:03:38
what's going on there. Maybe they're brother and sister
1:03:41
and whatever. So but now we get the real
1:03:44
interaction between them and at first you know you could tell
1:03:49
that they're trying to include Arthur they're trying is
1:03:53
painful. I feel like I've been to the
1:03:54
third wheel in this situation. Oh my God if it is painful to
1:03:59
watch because you could tell like The two of them want to
1:04:03
talk but they don't want to leave our Arthur out of.
1:04:06
Yeah. Because he is here.
1:04:08
He's on the end, you know? And Nora basically has his back
1:04:13
or has her back to him. Yeah.
1:04:15
And has to kind of like turn around.
1:04:17
Oh he said this or try to translate translate and
1:04:21
sometimes not even like a full translation just like right?
1:04:23
That was hard to watch was his song say this whole thing and
1:04:27
then she really diluted it, diluted it down.
1:04:32
Because you do work as hard work as hard because he's not even
1:04:36
talking about that. He liked was like, you know, the
1:04:38
physical. It's really draining.
1:04:41
Yeah. But you know, mentally, I'm
1:04:43
strong. Hmm.
1:04:44
But she like, you know, just like all workers aren't sit down
1:04:47
to work. Is why don't you tell us Arthur?
1:04:50
Because you could tell that she wants reinvest language.
1:04:54
It's the language barrier coming back into play.
1:04:57
That number one is the language barrier.
1:04:59
It's a it's a hassle for her. To translate anything Korean to
1:05:06
Arthur. And number two, she wants to be
1:05:10
in the moment with hey song and be able to just free flow back
1:05:14
and forth. Hmm.
1:05:15
And in that one moment Arthur is a hindrance?
1:05:19
Yes. To the point that they ignore
1:05:23
him for a while. Yeah.
1:05:25
And they just go back and forth. Yeah.
1:05:28
And finally after a while of talking, She like he was talking
1:05:34
about you. Yeah.
1:05:37
And I'm just like, oh my God, like Jesus.
1:05:40
This is painful. I could not stand it.
1:05:43
I think I turned you. I was like I can't stand this,
1:05:45
can't do this. I don't know how anybody could
1:05:47
do it. Like I gotta I Gotta Give Arthur
1:05:50
so many props there because right to stick that out.
1:05:54
Yeah. While they he may not understand
1:05:57
what they're doing. But you can tell that this man
1:05:59
has picked up enough Korean to be able to pick up words and
1:06:02
pick up stuff that they made. He says, his name in Korean
1:06:06
right. And stop picking up things.
1:06:09
Yeah, he's not exactly and you can see him kind of like squirm
1:06:12
in his chair, when certain things are being said, this man
1:06:15
is not ignorant. This man knows that there's
1:06:18
something he read the room. Yeah.
1:06:22
The way they're like, smiling with each other and, like,
1:06:25
little touches here and there, and like she like Taps him and
1:06:30
just like, little things like that, right?
1:06:33
It's that has got to be tough to watch.
1:06:36
Yeah. Yeah.
1:06:37
And his song says something, like I didn't expect how much
1:06:40
meeting your husband would hurt me?
1:06:46
Pikachu's. He was probably hoping, hoping
1:06:49
hoping it was some like jerk some dude you know.
1:06:53
But no like this is a man that you can't hate Arthur.
1:06:56
No, no, he is open and he is like, he's loving and he's not
1:07:02
gonna get in the way he says. No.
1:07:04
He's, he's like, you guys haven't seen each other in a
1:07:07
while. It's okay.
1:07:08
Yeah. So let's talk about the scene
1:07:12
that I have, like, the whole time.
1:07:14
Dialogue here, but go ahead in Korean, they talk about their
1:07:18
past lives. Hae-sung says, who do you think
1:07:19
we were in our past lives? And Nora says, I don't know.
1:07:23
His son says, maybe an impossible Affair between the
1:07:27
king and the King's henchman a good name.
1:07:29
You 20 K dramas right now that's like sort of the thing.
1:07:33
No I says or maybe we were forced to live together in a
1:07:36
political marriage and we were awful to each other and then
1:07:39
hae-sung cheat on each other. A bunch say hurtful things to
1:07:43
each other or Maybe we're just sitting next to each other on
1:07:46
the same train, why? Just because that's what our
1:07:50
ticket said. Maybe we were just a bird and
1:07:54
the branch. It's a tan one morning.
1:07:58
I just want to start crying right now because this scene is
1:08:02
such a tone Setter and invokes the theme of past lives and the
1:08:09
title of the movie and everything, where what is there
1:08:13
any on like why are they stuck together?
1:08:16
Yeah, right now in this life and they speculate and it's really
1:08:20
romantic and I love we, I said this earlier how nor is not as
1:08:25
romantic. As his song is and when she
1:08:29
says, maybe we were just in a political marriage and we were
1:08:31
awful to each other. So in that case, they owed each
1:08:36
other something. Right.
1:08:38
And that's why they're together again in this life.
1:08:41
But for him, like he, he brings it all the way back down to.
1:08:45
Like, maybe we were just sitting next to each other on the same
1:08:49
train. Fate, happy that put us
1:08:54
together. Yeah, not forced.
1:08:57
Just we were put together and then we come back to that theme
1:08:59
of nature. You're brought up earlier.
1:09:02
Nora says, maybe we were just a bird in the branch that it set
1:09:06
on one morning. It's it's probably natural, it
1:09:11
is powerful and I would love to sit in that moment and their
1:09:16
scenes of most of the things that we talked about in the
1:09:19
scenes that we talked about are on Tick-Tock and you can watch
1:09:23
them on the H1 a 24-page. But honestly it's a real
1:09:28
experience to watch it in context in the context of the
1:09:31
whole movie. And I guess we can wrap up with
1:09:36
the final scene of them. Whether because he's obviously
1:09:38
time is up, he's going back to Korea back to Seoul.
1:09:42
I don't. Is this a one-er?
1:09:45
Yes it is a wonder. It is a wonder and I'll talk.
1:09:48
Okay, so the winter starts from the from the moment that they
1:09:51
walk out of the apartment onto the steps, right?
1:09:55
All the way through the moment, where he puts his bags into the
1:09:59
car and finally, when he turns around is when it cuts.
1:10:06
Okay, got you. So, yeah, it is a wonder and you
1:10:12
can feel How weighty that moment is for the two of them because
1:10:16
you could tell this is a moment that they don't want to say
1:10:18
goodbye. No.
1:10:20
And oh my God, I really, really, really love when they finally
1:10:26
stand where they're waiting for the Uber and Nora is fully
1:10:32
facing him. Hmm.
1:10:34
And slowly hae-sung starts to turn, turn to fully face her.
1:10:42
Mmm. And there is this pregnant.
1:10:44
Pause of like is something about to happen here between right.
1:10:49
Right. Because the two of them are
1:10:52
looking at each other like Is this moment happening for us?
1:10:58
Are we going to take it? Or are we going to let it slip
1:11:03
by? And that's when the Uber comes.
1:11:09
So the length he puts it away comes back.
1:11:13
He says, you know do you think that this is just a past life
1:11:20
for what if this is our past life?
1:11:22
What is this? Is our past life and in the
1:11:24
future you know we're together At this point, this is the point
1:11:32
where I want to start crying for real for real, and then and then
1:11:36
it cuts to division of them as kids, and them facing each
1:11:43
other, at that crossroads at that verging path.
1:11:46
And so, what if the what if And then he gets, he gets in the
1:11:52
cabin leaves. Well, the Uber.
1:11:55
Yeah. And we said she walks back
1:11:57
slowly. And as soon as she sees Arthur
1:12:01
sitting on the steps she starts crying, she just breaks down
1:12:05
crying. And that invokes that whole
1:12:08
conversation that happened earlier, where she was talking
1:12:11
to her husband about his thong in the morning.
1:12:14
And she says, I used to be this crybaby and I used to use used
1:12:17
to just watch me cry. Bye.
1:12:19
Yeah, and he's confused Arthur's.
1:12:22
Like you were a crybaby. So I guess she doesn't really
1:12:24
cry. That often not prone to that and
1:12:29
it's weighty when she starts breaking down and crying that,
1:12:34
hey song left. It's like she's back to being a
1:12:40
child. Yeah, just reverted, yeah, back
1:12:43
to her. 12 year old self. and just as before she ascends the
1:12:48
stairs back to her life in America and never to see his
1:12:53
song again and he stays on the ground, level, it is so
1:13:00
beautiful and poetic and very beautiful film and so much
1:13:08
meaning So many things that you can explore on different
1:13:13
watches. And I think that we got a lot
1:13:16
out of it on this first watch. Yeah, we did.
1:13:19
Yeah, we did. There is such a sense of
1:13:23
melancholy throughout the movie which you said before and I love
1:13:26
this interview that told you did where he said that he grew up in
1:13:31
Germany and he's fluent in English so that accent that he
1:13:36
put on in the movies like fake. He doesn't have that accent.
1:13:41
And he says that he'd always been looking for a project for
1:13:43
him to sort of utilize the sort of melancholy - that he feels as
1:13:50
an immigrant in Germany and how he grew up and sort of that
1:13:54
feeling that he could not express and other projects and
1:13:58
he worked on science. Alongside saline to bring that
1:14:02
out in this movie. They they nailed it.
1:14:06
They really did. They know I really did.
1:14:08
Yeah. Incredible incredible film and I
1:14:15
mean I can't recommend it enough.
1:14:17
Yeah two people yeah yeah go out and see it.
1:14:22
Check it out. We both loved it.
1:14:25
Yeah it was so nice. It really was it really was it
1:14:30
resonated with me. Yeah you resonated with me to
1:14:33
the movie ended and I started putting my chair back into the
1:14:36
sitting position because we had recliner seeds and you just
1:14:39
stayed Sit in the reclined. Just watching the credits roll.
1:14:45
Yeah it's just there's some movies that you want to let wash
1:14:48
over you and stay in that moment, right.
1:14:51
So like one movie that at least recently that I could feel like
1:14:56
I had a similar reaction. I think that one I had maybe a
1:14:59
slightly stronger reaction to was the worst person in the
1:15:04
world. Oh oh yeah it was a Tanner Foust
1:15:10
at Norwegian. Yep, film.
1:15:11
Okay, no reason for region film. That one was another one that we
1:15:16
kind of couldn't move after the movie ended.
1:15:20
Yeah. So there's very few movies that
1:15:25
do that for us. Yeah, exactly.
1:15:27
And, and this was one of them, but before we got on talking,
1:15:30
were talking about lol and yeah, that was another one.
1:15:33
That was another one back in 2016.
1:15:36
And yeah, that the movie ended and we were just wrecked.
1:15:41
Brecht and there's a handfuls of movies that do that for us for
1:15:48
us individually, and us as podcasters and like, honestly, I
1:15:52
highly recommend this movie go out and watch it, tell us what
1:15:57
you thought, you know, where to find us at the back pod and if
1:16:01
you want to talk to Rico, just let me know.
1:16:03
I'll get the message to him. He's not really involved with
1:16:05
that. Buck pod on the socials, but
1:16:08
he's highly involved in everything always.
1:16:10
He's a Critic and he's always more than welcome to chat with
1:16:13
you guys to please. Please watch the movie and tell
1:16:20
us what you think about the movie.
1:16:22
Yeah, we would love to hear your thoughts.
1:16:25
So yeah. Like like just was saying reach
1:16:29
out to us on social media and let us know.
1:16:33
Let us know what you think about this support.
1:16:34
The movies support, these kinds of movies and you'll get more.
1:16:38
Exactly that. He liked it and support it and I
1:16:41
think it's worth it. Yeah, that's how you get more.
1:16:43
Exactly. Hmm.
1:16:45
So that has been our show. I'm Rico and I'm Jessica.
1:16:49
And this has been a very special episode of tabaka.
1:16:52
Ripples podcast.