This Korean romantic drama is a gentle, beautiful delight. A boy-girl pair of childhood best friends are separated when the girl's family emigrate to Canada. As we follow their different paths into adulthood, Nora aspires to be a writer in New York, where years later Hae Sung tracks her down and eventually goes to meet her years later. This is a remarkably assured and clear-visioned feature debut from director Song, and the two adult leads (Greta Lee and Teo Yoo) are utterly charming as they rediscover their easy friendship over video chats and emails and negotiate their adult relationship on separate continents, especially when Nora meets - and ultimately marries - Arthur, an American who is also a writer (a smaller but interesting role, well-played by John Magaro). Central to the film is the Korean word in-yun (providence or fate in relationships tied to past lives), but the feelings portrayed are universal. Shot and performed beautifully and carefully-paced, the wistful tone is maintained throughout with a heartfelt simplicity and sincerity that plays through to the devastatingly poignant end.
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