Great Scene: “Past Lives”

The quiet emotionally rich ending of this beautiful movie.

2023 was a fantastic year for independent movies — American Fiction, May December, Anatomy of a Fall, Fremont, The Zone of Interest, The Holdovers, Poor Things, The Teachers Lounge. My personal favorite is Past Lives.

Summary: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrested apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny.

Written and directed by Celine Song.

One aspect of the film I really appreciate is how much quiet and space it provides for the audience to experience what the characters are feeling or, more accurately what we imagine those emotions are.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the movie’s final scene.

Normally in this series, I feature the script pages first, then the movie clip. I’m reversing the order so your experience of this moment won’t be clouded by the script.

Here is the scripted version of the scene.

Nora’s tears — she cries and cries and cries — so many dynamics can be in play there. Regret. Sadness. Happiness. Confusion. It’s a beautiful moment reflecting the complexity of the human experience.

Screenwriting takeaway: Embrace the power of silence in your writing. Movies are primarily a visual medium and often … the best dialogue is no dialogue. Allow the characters the space to simply be in the moment. Actors love moments like that.

For more article in the Great Scene series, go here.