Netflix And Chill: Past Lives (2023)

An exploration of childhood connections maintained over the years, of roots that inevitably intertwine with others in a way that keeps you tangled up with others for decades, and the dangerous quicksand that can be created by the clash of memories blending with fleetingly idealistic moments in the present, Past Lives is a confident and moving debut from writer-director Celine Song that is entirely deserving of all the praise it has already received before I add my own extra helping here.

Nora (Greta Lee, although played briefly by Seung Ah Moon in scenes showing her childhood) is a woman who has moved from South Korea to the USA. She has tried to keep in touch with her childhood friend/crush, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo, with Seung Min Yim as the younger incarnation), but they both struggle with processing the unsaid thoughts and emotions while maintaining a long-distance friendship. Despite Nora eventually marrying an American man (Arthur, played by John Magaro), she is excited by the prospect of Hae Sung arranging a visit to see her. Which feels like it could be a difficult, but necessary, experience for all three individuals.

Concentrating on the characters, the carefully-chosen words used around one another, and the elements of many modern love stories (Arthur comments at one point that he would be the main obstacle in a standard tale written about Nora's quest for a perfect romance), Past Lives is a film that should speak to many people about something we've all gone through, despite it not often being displayed in this way. There's plenty to digest about diverging pathways, as well as some comments about language and cultural differences, but, to me, Past Lives is about grief. The grief of a lost love, whether it's a relationship that ended or a relationship that never quite went the way you wanted it to go. Because it's not often talked about, that kind of grief can hang on you like a soaking wet coat, weighing you down for a long time as you go through your daily routine, leaving those around you wondering why you're seeming a bit out of sorts. It's draining, and you yearn for some moment, whether it's big or small, that leads to a cathartic release. That moment can be positive or negative, it doesn't matter . . . what matters is the reaction it gets from you. A big laugh at your own ridiculousness, or the unfairness of the universe, a scream of frustration, a flood of tears, a sudden bout of nausea, anything that pulls you out of that darkness.

Song helps herself enormously by casting the leads so well. Lee, Yoo, and Magaro are three perfect sides of an equilateral triangle, all treating one another with care as they work on untying knots of their past, present, and future. Everyone is easy to like, which is essential when you're dealing with these complicated feelings, and Lee shines particularly bright at the heart of everything.

I've seen criticism of this, some of it seemingly in response to the many compliments it has received, and I can understand why some people may not appreciate the central concept. I side with the overwhelming majority this time though, as I have made clear throughout this review, and I appreciate this as a delicately-crafted, near-perfect, gem of modern cinema. Everyone should give it their time. You may not agree with me,  but if you who end up loving it then you will REALLY love it.

9/10

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Overlord (2018)

If there's one thing we all know by now it's that Nazis would have made an army of zombie soldiers if they could have. The only thing worse than a Nazi is a zombie Nazi, and they have appeared in popular entertainment quite often over the past couple of decades. They appear here, but the plot chooses to focus on the very real horrors of war, first and foremost, with the standard genre thrills mixed in slowly but surely until brought to the surface for the third act.

Starting with a group of soldiers being airdropped into Germany, Overlord is a tense and visceral experience from the opening scenes. The skies are shredded with anti-aircraft gunfire, meaning that many of the young men are killed before they even get a chance to jump out of their craft. The ones that land are immediately in great danger, and it never gets easier. But the mission is a vital one, destroying a radio tower that has been causing all kinds of problems, to put it mildly. The soldiers find someone willing to help hide them, a young French woman named Chloe, they start to figure out how best to complete their mission, but it all becomes even more complicated when they discover bodies being experimented on and a serum that seems capable of creating mutated super-soldiers.

Written by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith, it's intriguing to see that this was developed from a story idea from the former, who has a background in more varied dramatic works. Smith seems to be the horror guy, of the two, but both have worked well together in balancing the wartime tension with the pulpy entertainment aspects.

Director Julius Avery, working on what is only his second feature, does a great job with the material. It's often dark, and the action is frantic at times, but you never lose sight of the identity and location of the various characters, and the set-pieces are perfectly paced. Special effects are great throughout, impressively bizarre and bloody, but the focus stays on the main characters, even while horrific oddities start to multiply around them.

The cast are another big plus. Jovan Adepo and Wyatt Russell are the two main soldiers, with Russell being the one who ends up in charge after so many deaths in the first act, and both of them do excellent work (I'm not familiar with Adepo but have already come to expect excellence every time I see Russell onscreen). Mathilde Ollivier is equally good as Chloe, a determined survivor with loved ones to look after, and the main villain of the piece is played with relish by Pilou Asbæk. Other characters are portrayed by John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Jacob Anderson, Gianny Taufer (a standout as the younger brother of Chloe), and Dominic Applewhite.

There may be a little too much familiarity here, which might explain why there were so many mixed/lukewarm reviews when this was released in cinemas, but Overlord takes the elements that we've all seen elsewhere and blends them into a fantastic piece of genre entertainment, with impressive visuals and a score by Jed Kurzel that's also worth mentioning (I know, I know, I always forget to mention scores, and I constantly apologise for it).

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.