Columbus Review

Buildings are cool, aren’t they? That’s honestly all I can recall about Columbus, that it features nice looking buildings rather prominently, wrapping them around a contemporary story of a man stranded in a small town as he waits for his father to recover from a sudden illness. Kogonda directs us through a film that balances visual beauty with free-flowing storytelling, one that surmounts the beautiful bleakness of its characters. We’re left with individuals stuck in limbo, not really belonging to the area they inhabit, but with no choice but to hunker down for an unknown amount of time. It’s a slice of life that I can really get behind, where consequences are thrown to one side for brief moments.

I didn’t connect with Columbus as much as I’d have liked, but there’s more than enough within to make for a very satisfying film. Whilst visually stunning and well-choreographed, the direction provided by Kogonda feels rather cold at times. There aren’t all that many warm moments to be found within the confines of the small, Midwestern town we see ourselves latched onto. It’s a shame that this is the case though, since the friendship we focus in on between Jin (John Cho) and Casey (Haley Lu Richardson) is an exceptionally warm story.

Cho, as ever, brings an enjoyable performance to the table. It’s great to see he’s branching into some more serious, dramatic or even articulate roles, especially if you compare it to the likes of Harold and Kumar. His chemistry with Richardson is good, they provide ample material for the course of the film but it’s never at a level where it feels amazing. Palatable, there are the awkward jitters and fragmented feelings dotted throughout, but our two leads make it through with a more or less clean break.

One of the few films where I’m both stumped as to why I couldn’t fully connect with the story on display, but also rather confused as to why I’ve not managed to invest myself in these characters. Columbus is a film that receives a hesitant recommendation, where the integrity of the work is more than enough to push it beyond being just another loose film that has nothing to say. There are narrative trends and efficient storytelling set pieces on display throughout, and although the film feels free and in touch with its characters, that cold stance from Kogonda’s direction lingers in his unmoving camera and long-distance shots. Unrefined, that’s possibly the best word I can think of to describe how Columbus feels.