Past Lives Screenplay Book

by Celine Song

When you leave something behind, you gain something too. Book 013 in the A24 Screenplay Collection includes an introduction by playwright Lynn Nottage, essays by writers Sloane Crosley and Doreen St. Félix, and a conversation between Celine Song and philosopher Andrew H. Miller.

164 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 2025

Reviews

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

HAE SUNG
이것도 전생이라면, 우리의 다음 생에선 벌써 서
로에게 다른 인연인게 아닐까? / What if
this is a past life too, and we are
already something else to each
other in our next life?

Beat.

HAE SUNG (CONT’D)
그때 우리는 누구일까? / Who do you think
we are then?

NORA
모르겠어. / I don't know.

HAE SUNG
나도. / Me neither.

Hae Sung smiles.

HAE SUNG (CONT’D)
그때 보자. / See you then.

One of my favorite films, there was something so special about experiencing it through the lens of the screenplay. Subtleties that I never picked up on. Symbolism in the score. I really can't find the words to adequately describe how much I enjoyed reading this. Best gift I've received, maybe ever.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

"it's impossible to go backwards, to put our current selves into our old ones, to figure out what those precious beings were thinking. but we should never stop asking ourselves: do you remember me?"

after having experienced this same sort of connecting, silence for 10 years, then reconnecting and inevitably not mixing anymore to then return to silence, the weight of this story is truly something if you're able to connect to it. maybe what i had been chasing with the person from my own past was the desire to return to another time, and that became conflated with another person rather than myself.

i am glad i am not that person anymore, but i can look back on it, hopefully, and know she was real once.

[Ariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about this movie is that it reveals something new to me each time I watch it. Reading the screenplay continued to reveal more to me. There’s a beautiful essay in this book that describes the core of the film to be “not how painful it is to say goodbye to others, but how painful it is to say goodbye to ourselves.” In Celine Song’s interview within the book she shares that she has seen that her movie “works as a mirror to where the [viewer] is in their life and what they have gone through…” This used to be about lost love to me and now it’s about confronting your identify and choosing to embrace the life you live.

[Spens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only did I love revisiting this movie through the screenplay, I also loved the essays included at the end. There is so much depth and intentionality in this story and Celine Song showcases here how profoundly attuned she is to the human condition and the relationships that shape it.

[Drew Letellier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gonna start putting screenplays on here to juice my numbers

[Rachel Edney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five thousand stars

[Ben Horner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book. Reading the script really does emphasise how wonderful the performances in the film are. This book a perfect memento of a perfect movie.

[Jose Padilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love the movie and the screenplay absolutely incredible. Wasn’t a fan of the interview at the end. Nothing wrong with what was said, but also it felt so telegraphed. Nothing felt like it came from the heart at the moment asked. I don’t know it’s a personal problem. But I didn’t want to knock a star off for that. The screenplay is still incredibly beautiful.

[Alejandro Piña · Rating 5 out of 5]

The script is so powerful that it made me cry the same way I cried when I watched the film 3 years ago. This is one of my favorite films so it was such a treat to read the script and the added insight.

[Nadhirah Rashid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe Nora and Hae Sung’s real gift is not knowing what could’ve been, and just letting that feeling of what if quietly add something to their lives.

Anyway don’t know which one hurts more - the movie or reading this.

[Nery Cabrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

no lloré como al ver la película, pero me generó una sensación similar. mantengo que el personaje de Arthur es clave, ese anclaje al presente, además de apoyo para ella.

[sav · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best screenplays ever

[Cassidy G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this film so much and it was a pleasure to read the screenplay, accompanying essays, and a conversation with the writer/ director in relation to the film.