Celine Song’s new slow-burn drama PAST LIVES is an unrequited-love story in the same way John Carney’s slow-burn musical drama ONCE is — that is, just on the surface. But each film’s central would-be romance is a delivery device for deeper ideas about the weight of carrying nostalgia for past relationships and always wondering “what if?”. We’re joined once again by David Chen of DecodingEverthing.com to talk through PAST LIVES and how it functions as a different kind of immigration narrative, and the way it connects to ONCE in its depiction of sublimated longing, creative pursuits, and the language barriers that both unite and divide. And in Your Next Picture Show we take a brief look back through the many, many unrequited-love stories we’ve covered on this podcast over the years. 

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ONCE, PAST LIVES, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s THEATER CAMP and Christopher Guest’s WAITING FOR GUFFMAN. 

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