Narratives

Have you ever seen magic on the big screen? That is the closest sentiment to what it was like watching Matthew Rankin’s “Universal Language” at our local independent cinema. I sat down and was instantly transported to Winnipeg, Manitoba, but not just any Winnipeg - an ethereal Winnipeg where everyone is Persian and speaks Farsi, turkeys run wild and win beauty pageants, and Tim Hortons’ “double double” is tea and sugar cubes served from a traditional samovar - a large metal container used to heat water in many parts of Asia.

Finishing the novel "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride left me with one thought: now THAT is a Great American Novel. This intricate story is about a community living in Chicken Hill, Pennsylvania in the 1930s, a community populated by a small number of families, mostly immigrant Jews and Black Americans who unexpectedly come to find themselves part of each other's lives.

A psychological thriller that takes place on what was supposed to be an idyllic vacation but the people you are sharing a roof with turn out to not be whom they seem??? Sign me UP. As a fan of Midsommar, Get Out and the general vacation shenanigans that take place in White Lotus, I had high expectations for this movie, and it did not disappoint.

Yellowface (2023) blew my mind. This book by R.F. Kuang details the story of a white author who steals her Asian American friend's manuscript. The friend in question is Athena, who is seemingly much more successful, likable and beautiful than the author. She tragically passes away in an accident and the author's decision to publish her manuscript as her own is what sets off all the events in this book, with massive consequences that follow.

Mean Girls (2024), the no-so secret musical reboot of the original Mean Girls was so. Freaking. Fun. I don't know if I was expecting it to blow me away, and I wouldn't say it necessarily did, but it was definitely a great experience. It was light, smart, genuinely knee-slap level funny at some parts and the music was really enjoyable!

By now you have likely heard of Past Lives, the movie that blew everyone away with its portrayal of two people in their 30s, potential soulmates, inexplicably linked in their past lives, reconnecting after a childhood friendship. Greta Lee gives an amazing performance as "Nora" (her American name) a girl who grows up in Korea, and goes to school with her friend and crush, Hae Sung. However, her family decides to immigrate to Canada in pursuit of a better life when Nora is 12 years old. Years later, Nora and Hae Sung connect online in their early 20s, and start what one may now call a situationship - weeks spent on Skype with each other, talking and bonding in the most intimate way possible. But when the distance becomes too much, they decide to take a break, and once again end up estranged for years until they meet in person in their 30s when he visits NYC. This movie was not one that anyone expected to be receiving Oscar buzz, and yet it's one of the most touching and well-made movies of the year.

I have to admit, coming into Iron Claw I expected it to be a decent movie but not a fantastic one. I was partial to watching it but my roommate really wanted to and I also have a deep love for Jeremy Allen White after binge-watching The Bear this summer. So I thought, why not. Needless to say, it blew me away beyond my expectations.