Preview
If you love introspective, slice-of-life dramas. This film’s for you. Columbus is about feeling stuck, meeting someone who shakes up your world, and seeing beauty in places you might have overlooked.
Plot
The film follows Casey, a young woman who is totally obsessed with architecture, as my daughter would say. Casey (Haley Lu Richardson) is stuck in Columbus, Indiana, taking care of her mom. Jin (John Cho) arrives in town to visit his estranged father, who has fallen into a coma. Initially detached and uninterested in Columbus, Jin crosses paths with Casey, and their shared obligations and anxieties sparks a bond that reminded me of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannsson’s characters in Lost in Translation. You can sense a bit of sexual tension but you aren’t getting any kisses, sorry audience!
Columbus is not a horrible place to be stuck in, it’s industrially charming. Stitched into the film is an essay on the beautiful architecture of Columbus. Casey has a list of places that she visits, like shrines.
The Cast
Haley Lu Richardson (Casey): Haley Lu Richardson brings warmth, intelligence, and quiet sorrow to Casey. My goodness, she is loveable.
Rory Culkin (Gabriel): Culkin plays Gabriel who fancies the pants off Haley, and who can blame him? Shame, the poor guy is so far in the friendzone, he’s never getting out. “Oh no! Not another Culkin!” I hear you say? But don’t worry, this one is sufferable.
John Cho (Jin): The character of Jin is played by former zany brosian John Cho from Harold & Kumar, yes, the guy who once rode a CGI cheetah that looked like it had been designed by a kid with a pirated version of Photoshop. Cho’s portrayal of Jin, a man grappling with guilt, duty, and estrangement is fantastic!
Parker Posey (Eleanor): The indie queen herself, Parker Posey, plays Eleanor, a longtime friend and colleague of Jin’s father. She’s sophisticated yet emotionally complex, adding another layer to Jin’s reckoning with his father’s legacy.
“Columbus is a love letter to the lonely.”
The Director – Kogonada
Kogonada, makes his feature debut with Columbus, and wow, what a debut! His eye for framing and composition is masterful, turning the city’s modernist architecture into a living, breathing entity. Every shot is crafted like a painting.
Why Fans of The Pallbearer, Garden State, Lost in Translation, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape Will Love Columbus
Feeling Stuck: Just like Garden State’s Andrew Largeman, Casey is caught between staying in her familiar world and stepping into something new. Both characters are drawn to strangers who make them question their current existence.
Quiet, Reflective Storytelling: Like The Pallbearer, Columbus embraces the beauty of subdued, melancholic storytelling, where emotions simmer beneath the surface rather than explode.
Visually Poetic: Just as Lost in Translation captures the dreamlike beauty of Tokyo, Columbus turns architectural wonderland.
Conclusion
For those who love films that prioritize the subtle over the explicit, Columbus is a quiet masterpiece. It’s a film that lingers, that makes you think about the spaces we live in and the emotional structures we build within them. If you connected with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, this film will resonate deeply. Thoughtful, poignant, and visually breathtaking, Columbus is a love letter to the lonely.
There’s a point in the film where Jin says, “This isn’t the movies, nothing’s going to happen.” I’ve felt that way about my life at times. Watching this made me yearn to create something beautiful. Write something simple and beautiful, where it’s okay that nothing happens. And maybe one day someone will read it and feel my heart, even after it stopped beating years before.