Columbus

Something was telling me to watch this movie. All I knew about it was Haley Lu Richardson, architecture, and a tiny bit about the director (spoiler: all three of those aspects ended up being spectacular). Somehow I just knew it would be 5 stars. And it was. One word to describe this film: beautiful. This film is just simply beautiful. I absolutely love the poignant conversations happening. They reveal so much, yet are so subtle. The dynamics and parallels between the characters are very unique and bring out exactly what is intended. They bring out the most, both for each other and for the story. The way the scenes are pieced together, the symbolism told and untold, are profound. The camera is expert, both in terms of the on-screen visuals and the way the scenes are presented to the viewer. Even with extreme precision, it conveys endless emotions. Like spices in a dish, the music adds a subtlety to the flavor that complement the main ingredients, yet elevates them to such a degree that you don't know what you'd do without them (real conversation in the movie about spices, just not in the way I used it). This movie is an amazing display of show not tell. Through dialogue and events, to the visuals and music, it really spoke to me, in a very particular way not many movies (if any) ever have. "You grow up around something, and it feels like nothing." So so much to unpack here. I don't know if I ever will unpack it all. Not that I'm an avid unpacker or anything, but this film really tackled a lot at once without ever feeling like it was doing too much.