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Columbus

  • 20172017
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
17K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Columbus (2017)
When a renowned architecture scholar falls suddenly ill during a speaking tour, his son Jin (John Cho) finds himself stranded in Columbus, Indiana - a small Midwestern city celebrated for its many significant modernist buildings. Jin strikes up a friendship with Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), a young architecture enthusiast who works at the local library. As their intimacy develops, Jin and Casey explore both the town and their conflicted emotions: Jin's estranged relationship with his father, and Casey's reluctance to leave Columbus and her mother.
Play trailer2:06
1 Video
92 Photos
  • Drama

A Korean-born man finds himself stuck in Columbus, Indiana, where his architect father is in a coma. The man meets a young woman who wants to stay in Columbus with her mother, a recovering a... Read allA Korean-born man finds himself stuck in Columbus, Indiana, where his architect father is in a coma. The man meets a young woman who wants to stay in Columbus with her mother, a recovering addict, instead of pursuing her own dreams.A Korean-born man finds himself stuck in Columbus, Indiana, where his architect father is in a coma. The man meets a young woman who wants to stay in Columbus with her mother, a recovering addict, instead of pursuing her own dreams.

IMDb RATING
7.2/10
17K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Kogonada
  • Writer
    • Kogonada
  • Stars
    • John Cho
    • Haley Lu Richardson
    • Parker Posey
Top credits
  • Director
    • Kogonada
  • Writer
    • Kogonada
  • Stars
    • John Cho
    • Haley Lu Richardson
    • Parker Posey
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 105User reviews
    • 101Critic reviews
    • 89Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 9 wins & 32 nominations

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:06
    Official Trailer

    Photos92

    John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus (2017)
    Columbus (2017)
    Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus (2017)
    Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus (2017)
    Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus (2017)
    John Cho in Columbus (2017)
    John Cho in Columbus (2017)
    Parker Posey and John Cho in Columbus (2017)
    John Cho in Columbus (2017)
    John Cho in Columbus (2017)
    John Cho in Columbus (2017)
    John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Cho
    John Cho
    • Jinas Jin
    Haley Lu Richardson
    Haley Lu Richardson
    • Caseyas Casey
    Parker Posey
    Parker Posey
    • Eleanoras Eleanor
    Michelle Forbes
    Michelle Forbes
    • Mariaas Maria
    Rory Culkin
    Rory Culkin
    • Gabrielas Gabriel
    Erin Allegretti
    Erin Allegretti
    • Emmaas Emma
    Shani Salyers Stiles
    Shani Salyers Stiles
    • Vanessaas Vanessa
    Reen Vogel
    Reen Vogel
    • Cleaneras Cleaner
    Rosalyn R. Ross
    Rosalyn R. Ross
    • Christineas Christine
    • (as Rosalyn Ross)
    Lindsey Shope
    Lindsey Shope
    • Sarahas Sarah
    Jem Cohen
    Jem Cohen
    • Staffas Staff
    Caitlin Ewald
    Caitlin Ewald
    • Bartenderas Bartender
    Jim Dougherty
    Jim Dougherty
    • Aaronas Aaron
    Joseph Anthony Foronda
    • Prof. Jae Yong Leeas Prof. Jae Yong Lee
    Alphaeus Green Jr.
    Alphaeus Green Jr.
    • ICC Guideas ICC Guide
    Wynn Reichert
    Wynn Reichert
    • Miller House Guideas Miller House Guide
    Tera Smith
    Tera Smith
    • Hospital Employeeas Hospital Employee
    • (uncredited)
    William Willet
    William Willet
    • Maria's Supervisoras Maria's Supervisor
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Kogonada
    • Writer
      • Kogonada
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    A Korean-born man finds himself stuck in Columbus, Indiana, where his architect father is in a coma. The man meets a young woman who wants to stay in Columbus with her mother, a recovering addict, instead of pursuing her own dreams.
    • architecture
    • guide
    • asian man white woman relationship
    • indiana
    • city name in title
    • 175 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Shot in 18 days.
    • Quotes

      Casey: Smart phone, dumb human.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Athens of the Prairie (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Eat the Night
      Written and Performed by The Ettes

      Published by Walking Around Sense Music

      Courtesy of Fond Object Records

    User reviews105

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Relevant drama, real people, real situations, and real issues everyone can be forced to deal with
    Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival 2017 (website: iffr.com), where it was selected for the Hivos Tiger Competition. Relevant drama, realistic people, realistic situations, and realistic issues everyone can be forced to deal with when it happens to them. Pity that the dialogs were not always completely understandable, so I missed some nuances but certainly not the main topics at hand. Another minus point is that it took some time to establish who was who and what their relationships were. So I have to recommend everyone to read the synopsis beforehand.

    The situations of the two main protagonists has many similarities that binds them together after a random encounter while taking a smoking break outside, though it takes some time before they really open up to one another and clarify their respective situations towards another (and implicitly to oneself, as a side effect). For some reason, festival visitors were only halfway impressed how their issues were portrayed, as this movie ranked at a 80th place (out of 172) with score 3.856 (out of 5).

    Korean tradition states that when a parent dies, the son should be there when it happens, otherwise he cannot really mourn. So Jin is forced to wait until either his father is stable enough to bring him back to Korea, or when he fully recovers, or when he dies within the foreseeable future. The latter option is preferable, from a purely practical viewpoint, all things considered and setting all feelings aside. Anyway, Jin is here now following the "family first" tradition in his country to drop everything in case of family issues.

    Similarly, Casey is in a limbo wait state because of her mother. She postpones her plans for the future more or less indefinitely, very possibly even until it is too late for starting a promising career. Her mother stays a few times in some sort of clinic, and the interaction with staff is a bit cumbersome, though not clear (to me) what exactly the problem is. It looks like staff finds excuses on behalf of her mom why she cannot answer the phone or why she cannot meet. There was one example where Jin and Casey were outside the clinic, discussing the architecture of the clinic as exemplary transparent (plenty of glass), allowing them to see one of the nurses answering the phone but apparently acting differently from what she promised to do. It is one example where the architectural tour through the city coincides with their domestic issues.

    Precisely this common dilemma brings Casey and Jin together. That they meet is pure accident due to Casey taking a smoking break outside, and Jin is outside walking and thinking in himself. Jin's father is a scholar in architecture, while Casey recently finished her study in architecture, and often giving tours through the city for interested guests. Apparently, the city where it all happens, is full of original architecture, ahead of its time when it was built. Their relationship starts thus on architecture as a common ground to talk about, and it takes some time for both to open up about their real problems centering around their respective parents and how to escape from their respective wait states.

    Parallel to her encounters with Jin, Casey meets many times with a colleague at the library where she works. She interacts with him while at work and during smoking breaks. Their relationship is warm and intimate but not in the sexual sense. At the same time Jin meets with his sister every now and then. These parallel interactions offer ample opportunities to clarify the situation they are in, but not on the deeply-understanding-level as Casey and Jin together do.

    All in all, the dramatic developments are logically arranged in a perfect screenplay, that allows us to identify ourselves with all the protagonists, each of them relevant to the story in their own right. This movie stands out positively in the Tiger Competition, half of which was a waste of time, but this one certainly was not.
    helpful•47
    19
    • JvH48
    • Feb 7, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 4, 2017 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Korean
    • Also known as
      • Колумбус
    • Filming locations
      • Columbus, Indiana, USA
    • Production companies
      • Depth of Field
      • Nonetheless Productions
      • Superlative Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,017,107
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $26,820
      • Aug 6, 2017
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,093,077
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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