When you first started working on Past Lives, did you expect this scale of reaction?
There was a sense that we were doing, or at least we were after, something really special. It did feel like the small flame of something really sacred that we were all collectively on a mission to honour. The first time I met Celine [Song, the director], we were two little girls scheming together about what felt like a really huge flex: can we make something that’s really precious and intimate monumental, and reach a lot of people? As we move more into a world that honours what sometimes seems to be the loudest voice in the room, I’m curious about something that isn’t that. That being said, you have no idea if something is going to pay off, or what kind of audience it’s going to find, and it’s so scary. And now I genuinely can’t believe what has happened. It keeps me up at night, because I’m just so amazed. It does feel miraculous.
Was there anything about the reaction to the film that surprised you?
I was so scared to show this movie for so many reasons. The Eccles [Center, where the film premiered at last year’s Sundance film festival] is huge. We felt really proud. We were also like: “Is that house too big?” I remember being so scared about being an Asian woman and seeing myself like 15ft high. That still felt so radical, and really dangerous. I asked Celine: “Can we not show the movie?” She was like: “Greta, it’s kind of essential to the film-making process.” But I will never forget that screening. I remember sitting in the audience during the last scene, and noticing people start to fidget and reach for things. I thought people hated the movie and that they were getting antsy and wanting to leave. And it was this crazy experience of realising en masse that all these people were starting to cry. People were reaching for tissues. It was just so wild and surreal. And maybe that was one of the first times we had the sense of: “Oh my God, is this possible?” I still get chills when I think about that day.
Are there any common stories people share with you after watching the film?
I have really enjoyed the power of making people cry on sight. Once in a while, someone will say: “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting to see your face here at this coffee shop,” with tears starting to well. Younger people will say something along the lines of: “I just started dating this guy, but I feel like I should break up with him because there’s just this other person I can’t forget about.” I remember this one older couple who said they went on a walk after they saw the movie and just held hands and cried, talking about reconsidering their lives, and renewing their vows for each other. I think depending on where you are in your life, it hits you differently.
An early version of the film had the adult Nora at 29, which is the age Celine Song was when she had the experience that inspired the film. What do you think is added by following the characters at 36?
Celine has this uncanny way of creating something that’s instantly recognisable to a lot of people because on some level, it’s simple. It’s just two people, three people, talking about love, talking about their lives. But I do think that there’s something about having a little bit more life under your belt, as it relates to their marriage too. Nora and Arthur having a real authentic, mature marriage seems essential.
The film-maker Lulu Wang said that when she was trying to get financing for The Farewell, people questioned whether there were sufficient stakes behind a story about a grandmother getting ill. I thought about that after watching Past Lives, with its gentle plot. Against this idea that a film needs high stakes, tension and jeopardy to work, what do you think the success of Past Lives says about what people are looking for in cinema now?
I’m so thrilled. This is my tangible piece of evidence that that idea is wrong. That’s just a stunted idea of what makes for a digestible piece of art for mass consumption. When you are an “other”, you are constantly faced with trying to legitimise your story: “Oh, is it too small?” It’s getting picked apart by vultures trying to prove its viability, and that has been so frustrating. What is so miraculous about this movie, and the way we were siloed and protected, was that it was understood from the beginning. It was almost a point of pride that we could say: “There’s barely any kissing, there’s not even a very flashy yelling scene. It’s not that.” And we’re hoping to blow people’s minds. We want to show that audiences are not just ready for that, but they’re distinctly craving that. I know I am.
This is your first leading role after two decades in the industry. What’s it been like seeing the rise of Asian American storytelling in Hollywood?
It is really invigorating and has restored my faith in terms of what is possible now. We’re not anywhere close to it being resolved in any way. I had the opportunity to speak to some young people recently, who are at the beginning of their careers, and just hearing from them, their concerns about tokenism and limited opportunities … That’s a clear indication that we are nowhere close to having a more equitable community structure. So it’s a mix of feeling really proud and putting myself up to this task of taking up the space, while also knowing that it’s still so new. And trying to think about what to do, how to keep making space for people of colour, women of colour, but it’s hard. It’s tricky.
What are your hopes for the industry going forward?
I’m feeling very protective over making sure that it’s more inclusive. It sounds so simple and I feel like we’ve heard it a thousand times now, but it is personal for me. I really want to be part of whatever efforts there are to ensure that we’re going to keep having more women, more people of colour, more diversity. I believe in specificity in storytelling. And I think that that’s paramount. And I think that’s also commercially viable and there’s an appetite for it. So I’m hoping to contribute to that.
What do you think Nora’s life looks like in the future?
I think that she is a successful playwright. I think she’s on her way to winning an Oscar. Maybe she’s a film-maker. I think she’s happily married. What we were going after with Nora is this idea that maybe the greatest romance is the one you have with your own life. That’s Nora. She’s just living her life.
How does she think of Hae Sung?
I do think it’s important for people to have their own takeaways and beliefs. But for me, I think I’d be lying if I didn’t say a big part of me really believes that they will never see each other again. That it is the end of this chapter for them in this lifetime. I think she’s always going to love him. And that’s this fantastic part of human nature, our capacity to love more than one person in a totally different way.
