Review of Columbus (2017) by Tim M — 15 Feb 2018

Every once in a while, a movie will grow on you as you think about it. 'Columbus ' has real characters and they develop naturally and organically. Everything about this feature is beautiful, subtle yet carefully structured.

The movie is a vision of Kogonada who in his virgin filmmaking experience shows depth and innovation well-beyond this generation. Never has the framing of a film been so complex, yet so simplistic at the same time. The acting here of John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson are sublime. The supporting roles, of which there are just a handful are handled well. We are supposed to be inside the head of these people cause we can be them. Whether it's an adult with a substance abuse problem, a man in a crisis, a woman at a crossroads they could very well have been, are or will be us in the future. At first blush Columbis doesn't amount to much. Who really cares about architecture? But as you let the film wash over you, it's tough to find any major flaws. Sure it's a little slow at times, but it's so cerebral. In an era when so many movies are fluff, explain too much, or have 30 minute screenplays turned into 90 minute movies, it's a delight to have a filmmaker treat the audience with such reverence. Whether Kogonada can duplicate this is anyone's guess, but he's left us with a work of art to ponder. Final Score 8.1/10.