(“I think it’s Buddhist?” Nora says at one point.) This gently exhilarating, heartbreaking drama gives you the sense that so much of this has happened before, and will happen again. Past Lives is fixated on “In-Yun,” a Korean concept that suggests people consistently weaving in and out of each other’s worlds over different centuries, different existences.

Maybe, in some alternate universe or ancient timeline, these three experienced all of the unseen patrons’ scenarios. She knows the answer, but she’s not telling. The woman - her name is Nora Moon - finally looks at the camera and gives us a Mona Lisa smile. The camera creeps toward the woman sitting between these men, as the voices keep lobbying alt-histories back and forth. No, the other replies, the lady and the white guy are a couple, and the Korean gent is their old friend.

The two Koreans are tourists, one of them says, and the white guy sitting to their left is their guide. Folks off-frame are making up possible back stories. We’re observing the trio from a distance, unable to hear what they’re saying. Past Lives, writer-director Celine Song’s debut feature, opens with a guessing game: There are three people sitting at a bar, drinking in the wee hours.

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