A “lost in translation” type of drama about the troublesome relationship between fathers and sons starring John Cho and Parker Posey.
Gin (John Cho from the Harold and Kumar comedies and the recent Star Trek trilogy) arrives in Columbus, Indiana after learning that his father, a renowned architect, has fallen into coma. Jin is Korean whose family moved to America when he was a kid. His father had always been busy at work and spent little time with Jin, who almost broke away from him as an adult. This first meeting in many years will also apparently become the last. While anticipating it anxiously in a strange city, he becomes acquainted with Casey (Haley Lu Richardson) who is an architecture lover fascinated by Gin’s father’s projects. In spite of leaving her home town for a prestigious college, she works in a library and takes care of mother who is having treatment for drug addiction. While walking around the city famous for its modernist architecture, Gin and Casey discuss the relationship between people and the world and gradually proceed to more intimate themes, their complicated relationship with their parents in particular.
Columbus is the debut film of the South Korean director Kogonada, who previously worked in the genre of video essay (some of his early works can be found on vimeo). The film participated in the Sundance Festival, and was screened in London, Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary, Munich, Toronto, and many other cinematic forums.
Q&A will take place with Ayrat Bagautdinov, engineering historian and author of the project "Moscow through the eyes of an engineer", after the screening.
Columbus
Director Kogonada. USA, 2017. 100 minutes.
12+