In One Universe, Evelyn (the wonderful Michelle Yeoh) is a Chinese immigrant in the United States who has a laundry room. Her father (James Hong), with whom she has a complicated relationship, has just moved from China. She has a daughter named Joy (Stephanie Sue) and is married to Waymond (Ke Hui Kwan*), but she finds him to be a soft-hearted, incapable of making things right.
In another universe, Evelyn never made it to the United States with Waymond and met a martial arts master who taught her everything she knows. That mastery makes her a movie star with a career that rivals that of Michelle Yeoh herself.
In yet another universe, Evelyn is a genius scientist who has found a way to navigate the multitude of universes that exist, searching for parallel life where different, and sometimes smaller, alternatives have led to the development of very different life. has contributed to.
everywhere together (Everywhere Everywhere at the Same Time, 2022) is a film written and directed by the duo Daniels (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), known for their inventiveness and creativity, were they not responsible for objects d’art crazy as music video turn down for what or like movies swiss soldier (2016). It is also a film that is not easy to describe because it is too extreme, but deep down, it is about a family. But it’s still a movie about how a simple finance meeting ends with a mission to save the entire multiverse, running through multiple parallel universes and searching for life Evelyn never got to live with. The heroic mission involves defeating the nihilistic figure Jobu Tupaki, the villain of immense power (and infinite clothing). The intermittent presence of Alpha Weymond’s counterpart from another universe would aid him. As an opposing force, there’s also Jamie Lee Curtis as a multi-faceted IRS agent and she’s not as intimidating as she sounds.
is a film that follows the principle of Everything but the kitchen sinkexcept that here kitchen sink Noise is also put in.
If you’re familiar with Daniels’ previous work, the invention and creativity I talked about will come as no surprise. Still operating in the realm of independent cinema, they manage to squeeze a lot of juice out of a tiny fruit, creating dynamism through camera angles, the way they build montages and the special (and practical) through effects they develop almost in DIY mode* *. This ability to foresee logical situations in a transformative way means that, although the film takes place in multiple universes that transcend space and time, we spend most of our time in only two places, though not feeling the weight of this fact. it happens. The result is a film that not only costs four times as much, but seems to have the energy and grandeur of a blockbuster.
These aspects (Daniels’ imagination, his maximalist approach and the concept of the multiverse) mean that there is a lot of information to digest – also diagetic, but above all visual – this is a film that adheres to the principle. Everything but the kitchen sinkexcept that here kitchen sink Noise is also put in. But what could be, at first glance, a non-critical collection of absurd but funny moments, turns out to be just the opposite. Sure, Daniels revels in hilarious scenarios that can only come from their heads (a world where everyone has sausage-shaped fingers, for example), but nothing happens randomly on screen. is kept. Even the details of the absurd, especially the absurd, have a function: each new universe illuminates something for the development of the characters, especially Evelyn.
These Infinite Universes and Infinite Evelyn, all filled with cinematic references [a The Matrix (1999), a Fa yeung nin wah (Disponível Para Amar, 2000), à Pixar] Driven by disappointments and the breakdown of her relationships, this woman’s life ends in crisis. Multiverse – a metaphor for many things, from adhd, the way we consume and use the Internet—becomes a tool for Evelyn to deal with remorse. What would we be if things were different? Or which things will remain the same, because there is something cosmic that dictates it?
What starts out as an adventure filled with action and silly ideas is as honest as it is absurd. In a world of infinite universes, the big problem is that everything becomes incomprehensible. Nothing matters when everything can seem so irrelevant. until, all of a sudden, spending a few minutes with two stones fills us with emotion in a completely unexpected way.
“All movies are about fathers and sons,” a quote from my father that I’ve proven over the years. It is no shortage and the central relationship of the film is between Evelyn and Joey. An imperfect and complex relationship that refers to all the imperfect and complex relationships that exist between parents and children. In a world of Eternal Life, it is this dynamic broken one that saves the world.
At its core, it is a story about three generations of an immigrant family, their communication problems and the way they maintain mobility until the cycle breaks. But it is more than that. It’s about depression and nihilism, and the difficulty of finding meaning in the world you live in. It is about realizing that the world would be better if there were more expressions of generosity among all. It’s about changing perspective.
Taking advantage of the freedom offered by the multiverse idea, Daniels presented ideas, visual styles and action sequences at a frantic pace. In the center is Yoh. everywhere together Sees our world full of stimuli and information and accepts that perhaps nothing makes sense. Perhaps we are no longer one of those tiny beings living their frivolous lives in the vastness of an indifferent universe. But why not create our own meaning and purpose in front of him? Instead why not do as much philanthropy as possible? Maybe it’s a simple message, maybe the film is exhausting or maybe it just leaves us wanting to hug. But it’s a nice hug.
* Ke Hui Quan, short round of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Indiana Jones and the Lost Temple, 1984) and date crooks (The Goonies, 1985), failed for years to get roles and eventually worked behind the camera. This is her first role since she decided to return to acting.
** Over two years, the CGI of the film was created by a group of friends of the filmmakers on their computers, in the After Effects program.
