Some quotes from the post film Q&A to articulate how I feel in this moment:
"...for me it was just always about finding the truth, the humanity. I think there's a bit of Ben in all of us and there are sides of us that come out when we are wrought with insecurities or paralyzed by our own perfectionism and I think even in that brokenness, we can find empathy, we can find humanity." - Justin H. Min (Ben)
"I could literally break down in tears. ...what a reminder that we're enough. What a reminder that we can just be, and just live and have conversations and have opinions and have relationships and be so layered, you know? Relationships between our best friend, relationships between our parents, relationships between our booty calls... They're not the same and it's so complex and it doesn't need to be...a kung fu sequence. It doesn't need to be an onion pancake... It can just be human beings that are so relatable and trying to figure it out, ...and just dying for change and self-improvement, and not knowing how because we're...stuck in our insecurities, in our complacency, whatever it may be. So I think this is such a beautiful work of art about just being human and we just happen to be Asian and Alice is just such a special character, 'cause theres so much overlap in the queerness, the Asian-ness, the loud woman-ness, so I'm just honored and grateful to be a part of Randall's directorial debut and Adrian-it's so ahead of it's time, I mean... 2007! And we're still having the same conversations." - Sherry Cola (Alice)
"...it didn't feel like i was watching a movie i felt like i was watching my friends." - Ally Maki (Miko)
(me: sobbing)
"...that's exactly what this movie is about is having pain while also having joy and this movie expanded my heart like 10 times over just, and Randall, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. So it's very special." - Ally Maki (Miko)
"...I think it's important to do work that isn't necessarily for an audience either. It's for yourself." - Adrian Tomine (writer of screenplay and original graphic novels)
(sundance q&a theater audience: standing ovation) (me: even more sobbing)
This visually stunning anti-rom com is one of the most me-coded films I have ever seen I am so beyond happy to see a film like this exist????? I am in love with Sherry Cola's character and performance. The chemistry, charisma, and amazing banter she she has write absolutely everyone on screen? Wow. What an absolute star. Tavi Gevinson was also a break out to me. I thought she was absolutely delightful and hilarious. Sonoya Mizuno. Jacob Batalan. Justin H. Min. The casting felt so on point for me in every role, because honestly all of the performances in this film are top tier and feel so fluid and natural like breathing air. Like the actors don't even have to think about remembering their lines they're just living authentically in the moment, so natural and lived in. You can tell how present the performers are and how much fun it must have been to play in this world and explore these characters for these actors. It was really inspiring to see. Flawed characters are valid and seeing people traditionally perceived in media in different states of imperfection but searching for their truth and happy endings, whatever that may mean for them, was extremely affirming to see. A lot of these conversations felt like versions of conversations I've been in or have heard my friends recount to me and watching it really does feel like reuniting with an old friend you haven't seen in a long time. I can already tell it's going to be a new favorite comfort film for me. Randall Park balances the tension between dramatic and comedic moments with a deft hand-there are multiple transitions that had me in fits of laughter. The film feels like such a love letter to cinema and storytelling while still not shying away from tackling difficult topics of conversations and realities within the larger Asian American community. It feels very much like a film that will prompt discussion and i just feel really happy to see a movie like this exist and that more Asian Americans will have opportunities to see characters who reminded them of themselves or people they know in their own lives reflected in media.
Also that opening title drop? THAT BOOKSTORE SEQUENCE??? Stunning.
Loved this so much I watched it twice in a row within my Sundance virtual viewing window. It was my first Sundance repeat viewing :))))
"...for me it was just always about finding the truth, the humanity. I think there's a bit of Ben in all of us and there are sides of us that come out when we are wrought with insecurities or paralyzed by our own perfectionism and I think even in that brokenness, we can find empathy, we can find humanity." - Justin H. Min (Ben)
"I could literally break down in tears. ...what a reminder that we're enough. What a reminder that we can just be, and just live and have conversations and have opinions and have relationships and be so layered, you know? Relationships between our best friend, relationships between our parents, relationships between our booty calls... They're not the same and it's so complex and it doesn't need to be...a kung fu sequence. It doesn't need to be an onion pancake... It can just be human beings that are so relatable and trying to figure it out, ...and just dying for change and self-improvement, and not knowing how because we're...stuck in our insecurities, in our complacency, whatever it may be. So I think this is such a beautiful work of art about just being human and we just happen to be Asian and Alice is just such a special character, 'cause theres so much overlap in the queerness, the Asian-ness, the loud woman-ness, so I'm just honored and grateful to be a part of Randall's directorial debut and Adrian-it's so ahead of it's time, I mean... 2007! And we're still having the same conversations." - Sherry Cola (Alice)
"...it didn't feel like i was watching a movie i felt like i was watching my friends." - Ally Maki (Miko)
(me: sobbing)
"...that's exactly what this movie is about is having pain while also having joy and this movie expanded my heart like 10 times over just, and Randall, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. So it's very special." - Ally Maki (Miko)
"...I think it's important to do work that isn't necessarily for an audience either. It's for yourself." - Adrian Tomine (writer of screenplay and original graphic novels)
(sundance q&a theater audience: standing ovation) (me: even more sobbing)
This visually stunning anti-rom com is one of the most me-coded films I have ever seen I am so beyond happy to see a film like this exist????? I am in love with Sherry Cola's character and performance. The chemistry, charisma, and amazing banter she she has write absolutely everyone on screen? Wow. What an absolute star. Tavi Gevinson was also a break out to me. I thought she was absolutely delightful and hilarious. Sonoya Mizuno. Jacob Batalan. Justin H. Min. The casting felt so on point for me in every role, because honestly all of the performances in this film are top tier and feel so fluid and natural like breathing air. Like the actors don't even have to think about remembering their lines they're just living authentically in the moment, so natural and lived in. You can tell how present the performers are and how much fun it must have been to play in this world and explore these characters for these actors. It was really inspiring to see. Flawed characters are valid and seeing people traditionally perceived in media in different states of imperfection but searching for their truth and happy endings, whatever that may mean for them, was extremely affirming to see. A lot of these conversations felt like versions of conversations I've been in or have heard my friends recount to me and watching it really does feel like reuniting with an old friend you haven't seen in a long time. I can already tell it's going to be a new favorite comfort film for me. Randall Park balances the tension between dramatic and comedic moments with a deft hand-there are multiple transitions that had me in fits of laughter. The film feels like such a love letter to cinema and storytelling while still not shying away from tackling difficult topics of conversations and realities within the larger Asian American community. It feels very much like a film that will prompt discussion and i just feel really happy to see a movie like this exist and that more Asian Americans will have opportunities to see characters who reminded them of themselves or people they know in their own lives reflected in media.
Also that opening title drop? THAT BOOKSTORE SEQUENCE??? Stunning.
Loved this so much I watched it twice in a row within my Sundance virtual viewing window. It was my first Sundance repeat viewing :))))