Quote:
"In bundling the issues of identity, cultural ties, and rootlessness to love interests, [Past Lives] shrinks them down into something that feels negligible, and then tries to give itself added heft with the idea of inyun—the connection between people built up over all their past lives. When Nora first explains inyun to Arthur under those warm lights at night at the retreat, she jokes that the spiritual concept is 'just something Koreans say to seduce someone.' By the time the idea of inyun comes back up in earnest, it feels like it's actually the audience that's being had."
-- Alison Willmore

Source:
Willmore, Alison. "Past Lives is tasteful, understated, and unconvincing." Review of Past Lives. Vulture: Devouring Culture, June 2, 2023.