The countdown for the highly anticipated 94th annual Academy Awards, or the Oscars, is on. The ceremony is tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 10, at 6 p.m. CT. To get ready, let’s take a look back at who was nominated back in January, or more importantly, who was not.
This year, the main topic of controversy is Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig not receiving nominations for best actress and director in their respective categories for “Barbie,” but I would argue that the bigger snubs were Greta Lee and Celine Song for “Past Lives.”
“Past Lives” follows Nora (Greta Lee), a Korean immigrant who reconnects with her childhood friend, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), though she is married. Throughout their week in New York City, the film discusses themes of fate, love and the choices that lead them to where they are now. One of the biggest themes is “In-yun,” the Korean idea of having a deep connection with someone over multiple lifetimes. Throughout this thoughtful and poignant film, we grow to care deeply about the characters and sympathize with what they are going through.
In other films, Arthur (John Magaro), Nora’s husband, would be painted as the antagonist of the movie. Although the movie pushes you to root for Nora and Hae Sung to get together, we can acknowledge that Arthur is a great husband who cares about his wife and is not a villain at all.
“There’s no human villain in the film, the villains in the movie are the 24 years that pass and the Pacific Ocean. There are simply things that are very powerful forces in our lives that we cannot stop,” said Song, the writer-director of the film.
The three characters are given immense depth past the stereotypes they could have been placed into. They all feel like real people we can connect with, thanks to Song, making it an Oscar-worthy film.
Gerwig not being nominated for Best Director has been one of the prominent topics of discussion surrounding the Oscars. However, not as many people mention how Song was not nominated either, despite the critical acclaim and moving message of the film.
Celine wrote “Past Lives” inspired by her own experiences as a Korean immigrant who moved to North America at the age of 12. She too found herself in New York City sitting between her childhood sweetheart and her husband.
“And as I was translating between their language and culture, I also realized that I’m also translating between parts of my own self or parts of my own history,” said Song.
Her own experiences shaped how the movie was created to show the experiences that many immigrants, or people who have moved anywhere, go through when their old and new life interact. Song perfectly encapsulates how those who have left home can be stuck in a limbo of holding onto what they knew in the past and taking on their identity with their lives at their new home.
Lee also missed out on Best Actress, but again, many people point to Robbie when talking about biggest snubs in the Oscars this year. It is important to acknowledge that along with Song’s phenomenal directing in “Past Lives,” Lee’s performance makes the film. As the protagonist, the film rests on her shoulders to get us involved in Nora’s life and the decisions that make it worth watching.
Every moment that Lee is on-screen, she sells the character of Nora and her internal conflict. She brings the audience into the film and gets us to truly care for the predicament she is in. Lee has shown that she is leading role material and brings so much to each project she is a part of. Though this year was a bust, I am certain she will get her deserved Oscar nomination sometime in her life.
The Oscars are notorious for undermining women, especially women of color, so this is no surprise, yet it is still disheartening that neither of these women will get the praise they deserve at the Academy Awards. As a matter of fact, only one woman at all was nominated for Best Director, Justine Triet, for her thriller “Anatomy of A Fall.” On a high note though, “Past Lives” was nominated for Best Picture, which is arguably the biggest category of the night.
In short, Greta Lee and Celine Song gave us a film of a lifetime and should get their flowers for it. Though Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig undoubtedly deserve their praise as well, the women of “Past Lives,” go underappreciated when talking about who was snubbed in the 2024 Oscars.
