Today I want to talk about Past Lives, the movie.

It is a very curious thing. It is a very personal story. Most of the film is in Korean; in fact, there isn’t that much dialogue except until the second half. It is about immigrants and foreigners, hardly a subject about which Americans are enthusiastic. There are no bankable stars, no big director associated with it, no car chases, no crazy stunt work or expensive CGI. I’d say it’d be considered “slow” in today’s standard. It’s actually rather a miracle that it got made at all.

And yet it is so impactful. It punches us in the gut. It’s real. It’s heartbreaking. It’s universal. It’s touching. It speaks of something so personal and yet so relatable, even if we’re not Koreans (or Americans, to be honest). It was released earlier last year but stayed in people’s minds long enough to be nominated for multiple Academy awards.

The point I am trying to make is this: do not chase after what one would consider “popular” or “successful.” Celine Song wrote a poignant, personal, quiet semi-biographical tale about two Koreans, and it took America by storm because of its genuine, heart-felt storytelling and the amazing, nuanced performances of Greta Lee and Teo Yoo. Don’t let others tell you “oh this won’t sell, nobody wants to see this, there is no market for this” blah blah blah. Most of these people actually don’t know anything about anything. They just pretend they do.

Do what moves you. Do it with all your heart and soul. Do it for you. And the rest will follow.