Columbus (2017)

Sorry, this movie sucks

It is a performances centric movie

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Since the beggining of this film, writer/director Kogonada (making is directorial debut) shows the audience that symmetry and antisymmetry will play an important role throughout the flick. That being said, the cinematography by Elisha Christian is outstanding. Every frame is carefully planned, making this one of the most beautifully looking films of the year. Columbus also relies on great performances by John Cho (playing Jin) and Haley Lu Richardson (Casey), since they share a big amount of screen time. The first scene they share is an example of the greatness of this film. The way they are getting closer and closer as they meet each other is very well executed, making that simple scene one of my favourite ones. In spite that this movie is not as much about their connection as it is about each one's relationship with the respective parent. Though the fact that de slow pace of the film may make it a hard watch for some viewers, I really reccomend it for everyone, specially those who like this kind of film.

This is exactly the type of movie that you watch and seems so simple yet is done so well. Columbus belongs to that rare breed of films like Lost in Translation and Oslo, August 31st that is both a character study and a study of a place in itself. In this film the place is Columbus, Indiana. A young woman who loves architecture resides in the city where she has decided to forego her studies in order to take care of her mother. She plans on attending a lecture from a visiting architect but he collapses and goes into a coma cancelling the lecture. Through coincidence she meets his son, in town to take care of his father, and from there these two lost souls begin to bond.But Columbus is a film that doesn't really translate well into writing. It is a mood piece that should be experienced rather than talked about.First time director Kogonada really delivers, framing the architecture in ways which are still but not boring. John Cho finally has a film that matches his talent and he really delivers as a handsome meditative lead. Haley Lu Richardson is just wonderful and has an easy natural star quality about her.

Proper art has the quality of 'stasis' - it stills the heart of the viewer into a state of aesthetic arrest The supreme quality of beauty in an art is appreciated by the mind when it is arrested by the wholeness and fascinated by its harmony in the silent stasis of esthetic pleasure.To be aware of such a work of art is a spiritual experience.Joyce's definition of proper art and beauty is apt to describe this film.A Korean man finds himself in Columbus,Indiana to be with his architect father who has suddenly passed into coma.A local girl,an architectural nerd,strikes friendship with him.The man feels duty-bound to stay in town until his father recovers because he has no choice.The girl,who has offers to study and intern outside the town,doesn't want to leave because she is concerned about her mother.Lives are in statis,something's gotta give.The duo discuss their relationships,career and architecture as the girl takes the man around various modernist architectural sites in Columbus.They share cigarettes and advice,and possibly some understanding about life.If the Fountainhead was Beethovan's Symphony #5 on architecture,Columbus is Fur Elise.Both the protagonists are dilettantes of architecture,the girl having taken to it as a means of catharsis,and the guy quite reluctantly as a matter of legacy.The assymetric can still be balanced in buildings,and probably that is the corollary that the director draws for life.This is Kogonada's first directorial venture.Just yesterday I was overwhelmed while watching Bong Joon-ho's OKJA.Chan woo-park and Kim Ki-duk have churned out many such aesthetically pleasing films in their career.Columbus is a film that will stay with me for long.I wonder if I shud call this a coming-of-age drama.This is not even a conventional romance.There is a lot of love ,but this is love for art's sake and more appropriately,art for love's sake.

'Columbus' is a near-masterpiece. No kidding! Written and Directed by Kogonada, 'Columbus' is a film that screams craft & skill. Its a small little film, made with passion & heart. And the actors, all of them -- are top-notch!'Columbus' Synopsis: A Korean-born man finds himself stuck in Columbus, Indiana, where his architect father is in a coma. The man meets a young woman who wants to stay in Columbus with her mother, a recovering addict, instead of pursuing her own dreams.'Columbus' is about human beings, its about us. And there is nothing harder than to tell a story about us, I believe. But, Kogonada achieves this feat with mega success. This story of souls wandering in Columbus, Indiana is a tribute to architecture & the ride called life, itself. Its a quietly devastating film, that asks you to feel. Kogonada's Screenplay is fabulous & so his is Direction. Cinematography & Editing compliment Kogonada's vision to great results.Performance-Wise: John Cho, Haley Lu Richardson, Parker Posey, Rory Culkin, Michelle Forbes and Jim Dougherty, ALL, are tremendous. Haley Lu takes the lead, delivering a performance driven by heartache & shattered dreams. She has the potential to go places! John Cho is masterfully restrained & expresses grief, with subtlety. The irresistible Parker Posey continues her winning streak. And Roy Culkin adds a nice boyish charm to his earnest character. On the whole, 'Columbus' comes out of nowhere & ends up taking a part out of you. How often do films do that nowadays?