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Past Lives | 2023 | PG-13 | – 3.1.5
Why is “Past Lives” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “for some strong language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes several kissing scenes with people cuddling romantically, discussions of romantic feelings between a married woman and another man, a scene of soldiers marching with guns, and about 3 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.
Two childhood friends (Greta Lee and Teo Yoo), separated by fate when one of them emigrates from South Korea to Canada, reconnect over the years and try to reconcile the way they are drawn to each other, despite the fact that one is married. Also with John Magaro. Directed by Celine Song. Many lines of dialogue are spoken in Korean with English subtitles and a few lines are spoken in Korean without translation. [Running Time: 1:46]
Past Lives SEX/NUDITY 3
– After a group dinner, a man and woman remain at the table and kiss passionately. A man and a woman kiss several times in the background of a scene, in a public place.
► A husband and his wife cuddle in bed together, with the man’s legs over the woman’s; the woman is dressed; the man wears boxers and no shirt (his bare chest, abdomen and legs are seen) and they kiss several times and talk. A husband and his wife kiss briefly in several scenes.
► A husband and his wife lie in bed together, discussing relationship insecurities; they occasionally cuddle or hold hands. A man and a woman hug in greeting and hug goodbye in several scenes and it is implied that they have romantic feelings for each other (the woman is married). A man and woman hold hands on a public train, flirting with each other. A boy and girl hold hands in the backseat of a car; the girl sleeps with her head on the boy’s shoulder. A boy and girl have a chaperoned date with their mothers watching from a park bench. A husband hugs his wife while she cries and continues to hold her around the shoulders as they walk up a flight of stairs.
► A man and a woman discuss their romantic feelings for each other in several scenes; in one scene, they talk in front of the woman’s husband, in a language he does not understand. A man and woman jokingly discuss who they might have been to each other in “past lives,” including a forbidden love affair, or a tumultuous relationship where they cheated on each other a lot. A husband and his wife discuss having slept together when they first met. A woman tells her husband that a friend of hers came to their city just to see her; it is implied that the other man had a romantic intention. A mother asks her pre-teen daughter if she has a crush on a boy at school and the girl describes her crush as manly and says that she’ll marry him someday. People discuss breaking up with significant others in several scenes; in one scene, a person is visibly upset and crying about a break-up. When a man is texting, a friend asks if he has a secret girlfriend. Voices off-camera speculate about the relationship between three people at a bar, and which two of them are married or dating.
► A husband asks his wife about another man and if she finds him attractive and she says that he is attractive and masculine, but she doesn’t think she finds him attractive; the couple discusses the husband’s fears that his wife is meant to be with the other man, and jokingly asks if she is going to run away with him.
► A book’s title is shown and it is a term for male genitalia.
Past Lives VIOLENCE/GORE 1
– A few scenes show soldiers wearing fatigues and holding rifles, first marching and then stopping to camp.
► In a few scenes, a person playfully punches another person’s arm.
► A mother and daughter talk about when the daughter used to be a bed wetter and “[scatological term removed] her pants” as a child. A man tells his friends that they are going to “drink until we die.”
Past Lives LANGUAGE 5
– About 3 F-words, 4 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term for male genitalia (written as the title of a book), 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (psycho, moron, crazy, bastard). | profanity glossary |
Past Lives SUBSTANCE USE
– Several scenes of people drinking in social settings, and a few scenes where characters are visibly drunk. People smoke cigarettes in several scenes.
Past Lives DISCUSSION TOPICS
– Fate, destiny, past lives, love, Korean culture, marriage, relationship fears, immigration.
Past Lives MESSAGE
– Some relationships are difficult to reconcile; sometimes we cannot explain why we are so drawn to certain people.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
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Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.
