You know who I can count on to make me cry every time? Kogonada. He’s made two feature films, Columbus and After Yang, both of which are very particular visions and works of deep sensitivity. I had a very lovely healing cry at the end of Columbus, and something tells me his new film, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, might hit the same way.
The film reunites Kogonada with After Yang star Colin Farrell, who is joined by Margot Robbie and a supporting cast that includes Jodie Turner-Smith, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lily Rabe, Kevin Kline, Sarah Gadon, Billy Magnussen, Hamish Linklater, and Brandon Perea. Kogonada has rapidly become one of those filmmakers who can get major talent to play the smallest roles because his films are so incredible. Unlike his previous films, though, this time Kogonada is working off someone else’s script, as Journey is written by Seth Reiss, who has had an incredible career from head writer of The Onion to writer at Late Night with Seth Meyers to penning film scripts like The Menu and now Journey. King sh-t.
I am very curious to see what a Kogonada collaboration looks like, but at least by the trailer, Journey looks like another of Kogonada’s nuanced portraits of humanity, if more fantastical than his previous films (After Yang is one of the most grounded sci-fi films in recent memory). His films are so beautiful, and just this trailer is getting me a little choked up. Farrell and Robbie star as a pair of strangers who meet at a wedding and end up going on some kind of space-time adventure together, revisiting their pasts through magical doors. I cannot wait to go on this journey with them and Kogonada.
But Journey is yet another film that has a baffling release date. It’s set for a September 19 in North America, which is better than the originally planned May release date, but still. September is not a month that builds confidence. And while Kogonada’s films don’t make a lot of money, they also don’t cost a lot of money. Columbus was made for less than $1 million—mindboggling when you consider how good the film looks—and After Yang was made for under $20 million. Granted, it basically didn’t make any money, being released with no fanfare through a pandemic-hobbled, day-and-date release scheme, which guaranteed it wouldn’t make money.
But Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie are big draws. Robbie is one of the biggest stars to emerge in the last decade, and Farrell is enjoying renewed post-Batman/Penguin popularity. This is not a hard sell! It’s a classic weepy with great actors and an auteur filmmaker! This is a spring or late fall film. September is just telling me the folks at Sony don’t have the balls to try and sell this to a bigger audience.
What I am getting from movie studios in 2025 is that everyone knows even less than they did before, no one has faith in the movie-going audience (fair), and theatrical releasing is even more of a crap shoot than ever. But I am glad they’re committing to an exclusive theatrical release for Journey. Kogonada’s films should be seen on a big screen. Not only are they visually wonderful but sitting in a dark quiet space gives you a nice place to have a little cry. Don’t forget the Kleenex!
Attached: Colin Farrell on the set of Sugar last week in LA, and Jodie Turner-Smith at the farmer's market and at Chateau Marmont in LA.
