Columbus

Tiny events in everyone’s life occasionally have lasting meaning that none of us suspect at the time.

Sit back for a moment and absorb the fact that the film Columbus is a stirring little movie focusing on the meaning of life. Filmed in Columbus, Indiana, it quietly absorbs both heartbreak and hope as we all try to make sense out of our brief time on Earth.

The engaging John Cho plays Jin, a Korean American traveling to Columbus to be with his father who collapsed before giving a lecture. Never close to his dad, he becomes fascinated with the city’s architectural wonders as he awaits word from the hospital.

In the process, he meets Casey, played in an appealing fashion by Haley Lu Richardson, a young librarian. A relationship evolves as both wrestle with problems that affect us all.

Surprisingly, there is very little music in this quaint film and you don’t miss it for a moment. As Jin comes to grips with the reality that he doesn’t really care if his father survives, Casey is torn between going to college in an out-of-state school and leaving an emotionally damaged mother whom she loves.

It is worth noting that Parker Posey appears as Jin’s father’s assistant, and I have always found her to be a fascinating actress to watch in any movie. Let me just encourage all of you to find a way to hunt down Waiting for Guffman (1996), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006).

I grew up in Batesville, Indiana, a town of 5000 quite close to Columbus on State Road 46. Though I traveled to this interesting small city primarily to play Otter Creek, a sensational golf course, I noticed its great architecture as a young kid.

In this film, directed by Kogonada, the friendship of Jin and Casey evolves as they visit the numerous architectural wonders of Columbus, and you are left fascinated at nearly every turn. It creates the feeling that you are watching a warm friendship develop between two people against an architectural backdrop that resembles a Picasso painting.

This is a movie that will cause most viewers to reflect on events in their youth that helped define who they are today. It is a film to be seen and embraced.