Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

 

I have a confession to make.  Even though I am a serious film reviewer who has huge respect for his audience, during my screening of this film I fell asleep! I don’t even know for how long. I was not watching it on my PVR where I could backtrack.

It happened when I was watching what seemed to me to an interminable martial arts scene. Even though the scene was partly a spoof of martial arts scenes I could not take it. It was mid-afternoon and I was stone sober and fell asleep. The reason is I am deeply bored by martial arts scenes. The first time I saw one I was enthralled like everyone else. After the 1,00th such scene I could not resist sleep any longer.

That doesn’t mean the film did not have good points. It had lots of good points. It was a good and interesting film. I think it will probably win the Academy Awards. I am just sick of martial arts fighting scenes. Enough.

There is one very important aspect of this film and it is revealed in the title. That is that the film uses its art to show us Everything. Everywhere. All at Once. And that is not easy to do. As Pablo Picasso. He and his friend George Braque who discovered a revolutionary new method of expressing reality in art called Cubism. Together in the early 20th century these two brilliant artist tried to show us different points of view of various subjects together all at once at the same time. Perhaps not everything as this film tries but a lot. That is why their images appeared fragmented and broken and helped establish not just a new form of painting, but actually, I would argue, helped to establish modern art of all kind including poetry, novels, sculpture, and music among others.

It seems to me this is what the makers of this film are doing and they have done a credible job in making cubism for cinema. How could I fall asleep through that? Stupidly!

As a result, the world explodes as if put through a blender as one reviewer cleverly noted. Perhaps, more in keeping with the film one might say, like clothes are jumbled in a clothes washer or dryer. You get to see all side at once. This film tries to do and therefore you must be prepared for a wild ride. Don’t fall asleep or walk out like a ninny. Then you might get to realize as Evelyn Wang said in the movie, “The universe is so much bigger than you realize.”  You can only look at images flashing through your mind at blinding speed. How else can you look at a multi-verse?  Can you view many stories at once? Or will you fall asleep on the job?

Gary Duong of NPR said, it is “a family hot pot of ridiculousness.”

The film really does try to show us everything, everywhere, all at once. As if the world was put into a blender and chopped up and then is spun around.  Or perhaps as demonstrated in the film, like clothes in a clothes washer or dryer at the laundromat. Like cubism. See all sides at once. How is that possible?  This film tries to show us how. To find out you have to be prepared for a wild ride. There really is nothing else like it.

Then, as if that is not enough, the film brings us to a simple yet immense conclusion: Be Kind. Even when you don’t know what is going on!

 You can do it.

 

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