Columbus

2017 Hoosier movie

Rating: 15/20

Plot: The son of a Korean architect finds himself stuck in Columbus, Indiana, where he befriends a local librarian who is also stuck in Columbus, Indiana. They start a relationship based on cigarettes, architecture, and being stuck in Columbus, Indiana.

Is it common knowledge that Columbus, Indiana, is known for its public art works and modernist architecture? I live about an hour or so north of the city and wasn't aware of that at all. It's probably a good thing that this movie wasn't some kind of huge hit because people would flock to the city to check out some of the beautiful buildings, and I'm not sure Columbus can handle that much flocking.

This reminds me a little of something like Linklater's Before Sunrise. Not a lot happens. Two characters connect and have some conversations and check out buildings. This takes place over several days though instead of half a day. To be completely honest, I didn't like the guy all that much. He was a little mopey, and even after we get to see his unclothed backside in a shower scene, I just didn't care all that much for him. And I love unclothed backsides! He's played by John Cho, the guy who plays Sulu in recent Star Trek movies and Kumar's friend, Harold. I really liked the female character Casey played by Haley Lu Richardson. I thought she was as charming as a young lady could possibly be, and I liked how much of her life was relayed to the audience without her needing to say very much. The dialogue between the pair is economical, at least when they're not talking about architecture, just so much meaning to extract from snippets of things the characters expose of themselves and sometimes even revelations that aren't being articulated at all.

The best part of the movie is its look. Columbus--unpredictably for me--is very photogenic, and director Kogonada (one of those fellas with only one name) puts the characters in all these perfect spots to show that off. And there are all sorts of random shots--high-angle shots of library shelves, glass baubles on a table, empty hallways, a hanging coat and hat--that don't need to be in the movie at all, at least for any narrative reasons. But they add to this atmosphere that I really liked.

I would have to watch this again to figure out how some scenes fit in. The parallels with the two characters parents are obvious, but there are other scenes--Jin with a woman who works with his father, Casey conversing with a co-worker/friend--that threw me off.