Korean-American auteur Kogonada new film marks a shift from his cerebral works like Columbus and After Yang. While his earlier films were emotionally subtle, this one is a bold, colorful romantic fantasy. Moreover, it evokes The Umbrellas of Cherbourg reimagined for the American multiplex.
Written by Seth Reiss, co-author of The Menu, the film is a heart-on-sleeve wish-fulfillment story. Initially, it may seem overly self-aware, but viewers gradually adjust to its dreamlike tone. The story immerses audiences in a multicolored daydream about love, relationships, and emotional openness. Themes of confronting the past and navigating feelings about deceased parents are central, though the parents appear only through memory.
Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell play Sarah and David, two stunningly attractive single professionals. They meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and flirt cautiously. When Sarah’s rental car breaks down, she shares David’s car, beginning a road trip. Along the way, they move away from commitment fears toward love and self-forgiveness.
Additionally, the rental car agency, run by Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, provides a 90s vintage Saturn with a mystical GPS. This GPS guides the couple through magical doors to scenes from their past. These include encounters with parents, a Canadian lighthouse, a modern art gallery loved by Sarah’s late mother, two hospitals, and David’s high school, where he once fell unrequitedly in love. These sequences mix nostalgia and fantasy, creating memorable moments.
The film carries echoes of Charlie Kaufman’s work, particularly Kogonada’s After Yang, in exploring human emotion through surreal scenarios. Yet it stays grounded when real-life stakes arise. For example, at the wedding, Sarah whimsically proposes marriage to David. After a tense moment, he replies, “You’ve destroyed some men, haven’t you …” Later, at David’s high school, a misunderstanding about age adds both humor and tension. Furthermore, sweet moments like a breath-holding game inspired by Sarah’s mother bring warmth to the story.
While the fantasy elements require viewers to suspend disbelief, the film never misleads about the challenges of adult love. Its blend of surrealism, humor, and emotional honesty makes this Kogonada new film a striking exploration of intimacy, memory, and risk.
