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The Poem, Film, Song, Painting Series

Monday, October 7, 2024

Issue No. 6

Poet Carol Ann Duffy looking away from the camera, wearing a black shirt.

POEM

Words, Wide Night

By Carol Ann Duffy

Somewhere on the other side of this wide night
and the distance between us, I am thinking of you.
The room is turning slowly away from the moon.
 

This is pleasurable. Or shall I cross that out and say
it is sad? In one of the tenses I singing
an impossible song of desire that you cannot hear.
 

La lala la. See? I close my eyes and imagine
the dark hills I would have to cross
to reach you. For I am in love with you and this
 

is what it is like or what it is like in words.

Copyright Credit: Carol Ann Duffy, “Words, Wide Night” from The Other Country (1990: Anvil Press Poetry, 1990). www.anvilpress.com
Source: The Other Country (1990: Anvil Press Poetry, 1990)

Teo Yoo on the left and Greta Lee on the right looking into each other's eyes while riding the New York Metro in Celine Song's debut feature film Past Lives.
Seung Ah-moon and Seung Min-yim riding on the back seat of a car in Celine Song's debut feature film Past Lives.

FILM

Past Lives (2023)

Na-young (Seung Ah-moon) and Hae-sung (Seung Min-yim) are 12-year-old best friends from South Korea. They spend every moment together, young love (and a bit of competition) flooding their encounters. Their childhood romance, however, ends abruptly when Na-young's family emigrates to North America.

12 years pass in which both of them lead remarkably different lives away from each other - Na-young (Greta Lee) is now a rising star writer in New York, and Hae-sung (Teo Yoo), after finishing his military service, is studying engineering back in Seoul. One day, a chance comment on social media brings them back together - in the virtual world, at least - and their connection is rekindled. 

With a beautiful cinematography (evoking memories of Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love) by Shabier Kirchner, and a heart-wrenching performance by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo, Past Lives is a story of choice, missed opportunities, love, and unspoken connections that transcend time and space.

Director: Celine Song

Language: English, Korean

Cinematography: Shabier Kirchner
Music: Christopher Bear, Daniel Rossen

​

Musician Max Richter is pictured in black and white in front of a window, from the neck up. His reflection is seen in the window glass.

SONG

Late and Soon (2024)

By Max Richter

Album: In a Landscape (2024)

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Harald-Slott-Møller's painting Moonlight. A manwith dark hair on the left and a woman with blonde hair on the right, both wearing white and with their backs to the spectator, sit in the grass of a highland, looking over a blue body of water. The reflection of the Moon is seen shining on the water's surface.

PAINTING

Moonlight

By Harald Slott-Møller (Danish, 1864 - 1937)


MEDIUM: Oil on canvas
LOCATION: Private collection
 

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