Finally had the time and opportunity to watch Past Lives. 4-star rating is right on target -- I expected to be impressed by Greta Lee and was, but I must say, I was really impressed by the Korean actor Teo Yoo. Turns out he's actually German born and raised?!?! So Korean obviously is neither of their native tongues but they both sounded …
Finally had the time and opportunity to watch Past Lives. 4-star rating is right on target -- I expected to be impressed by Greta Lee and was, but I must say, I was really impressed by the Korean actor Teo Yoo. Turns out he's actually German born and raised?!?! So Korean obviously is neither of their native tongues but they both sounded very much like natives, so either they grew up with the language to some degree or had excellent dialect coaching and practice. Also, I really felt for the Magaro character -- so perfectly cast, that role. He's got the natural hangdog/sadness in his eyes.
For a movie about unrequited yearning, I'd put Remains of the Day over it for sure, and for romantic swooning, Carol is tops. Still, for Celine Song's first feature, it's not quite a home run but more than a triple. Maybe inside-the-park home run?
p.s. Several times, the translation bothered me. At that crucial scene where Hae Sung bids Nora goodbye the first time (when they are 12 year olds), the translation said, "Bye." Even though "jaal gara" technically translates to "bye," I find it too simple. There are two ways to say goodbye in Korean, "jaal gara" (when the person is leaving) and "jaal it suh" (when the person is staying and YOU are leaving). So when Hae Sung says this, it's really more like "bon voyage" or "happy trails." Neither of those work, either...I guess maybe we're just hitting the natural limits of linguistic translations...
Finally had the time and opportunity to watch Past Lives. 4-star rating is right on target -- I expected to be impressed by Greta Lee and was, but I must say, I was really impressed by the Korean actor Teo Yoo. Turns out he's actually German born and raised?!?! So Korean obviously is neither of their native tongues but they both sounded very much like natives, so either they grew up with the language to some degree or had excellent dialect coaching and practice. Also, I really felt for the Magaro character -- so perfectly cast, that role. He's got the natural hangdog/sadness in his eyes.
For a movie about unrequited yearning, I'd put Remains of the Day over it for sure, and for romantic swooning, Carol is tops. Still, for Celine Song's first feature, it's not quite a home run but more than a triple. Maybe inside-the-park home run?
p.s. Several times, the translation bothered me. At that crucial scene where Hae Sung bids Nora goodbye the first time (when they are 12 year olds), the translation said, "Bye." Even though "jaal gara" technically translates to "bye," I find it too simple. There are two ways to say goodbye in Korean, "jaal gara" (when the person is leaving) and "jaal it suh" (when the person is staying and YOU are leaving). So when Hae Sung says this, it's really more like "bon voyage" or "happy trails." Neither of those work, either...I guess maybe we're just hitting the natural limits of linguistic translations...