It’s been almost 3 months since I first saw this film, and even after rewatching it a month later and letting it sink in till now, I still have no idea exactly how to approach it. I don’t think I’ve ever had what I’d call an “out-of-body experience” with a film before, but that’s legitimately the only way I can describe my first viewing of this in theaters; to the point where walking out of the theater afterwards legitimately took some time to adjust. This is a film that truly takes you on an adventure throughout its runtime, and the 2+ hours both fly by and feel overwhelming in all the best ways; cause despite all the craziness it constantly throws at you from start to end, it all still feels purposeful and like it all builds to the bigger picture in the end (along with every aspect being incredibly well-refined from the cinematography and visual effects, to the acting and fight choreography to the music etc..). But above all else, what really makes this film shine as much as it does for me, and probably why it has connected with so many people all over the world throughout the year, is its approach to its concept along with its endless amount of heart. It’s very rare for a film to get this much of an emotional response out of me, and even more rare to do so equally on a rewatch; yet this film managed to make me tear up on multiple occasions both times I watched it, something very few movies for me are able to achieve, like it’s nothing. Centering an existentialist multiverse storyline around a family drama was an absolutely brilliant choice, being able to capture the endless possibilities and overwhelming nature of its concept and explore its grander, heftier themes while also never straying away from its more grounded emotional core. And that’s ultimately why I think this film is so brilliant and what makes it work as well as it does for me and I imagine a lot of people, in this perfect balance between the two that makes it very hard not to connect with and where, even if you don’t like it, it’s hard not to at least somewhat admire it and respect its originality. It’s one of those instances where its “simplicity” is almost what makes it work in a sense, tackling a very simple message and making it feel rich and compelling in the way it’s executed through its characters, conflicts and narrative; obviously this doesn’t mean that the film isn’t complex in any way, being filled with tons of emotional depth and with many smaller details that I picked up on rewatching it and made me further appreciate the level of care and passion put into it. I’d say that my 1st viewing was more spent on taking in all that it had to offer and where I related the most to its emotional core, and my 2nd viewing is where I noticed a bit more how all its intricacies and every aspect fit together in the overall narrative and where I was able to follow along and appreciate the film much more (while also making me cry like a bitch once again 😭).

Anyway, out of all the media I’ve consumed this past year, this is definitely up there as one of my favorites and offers an experience that is absolutely unmatched and has given me genuine comfort and inspiration since first watching it. Honestly movies like this remind me why I still wanna go to the theater and seek out films that I’m interested in, to look for an experience that could even remotely come close to this one is honestly kind of a dream, and I’m very glad to this film for managing to give me that kind of passion and motivation once again. I hope I can catch it in theaters at least one more time in the next few months.

Happy New Year, everyone! ❤️