Jobu Tupaki - Tumblr Posts
Absolute multiverse annihilation
Last week at the fantastic film club I attend I got to choose a film that is very dear to my heart: Everything Everywhere All At Once.
I LOVE this film. When I saw it in 2022, with only the vague buzz of bemused critical acclaim & an image of Michelle Yeoh with a googly eye firmly implanted in the middle of her forehead to go on, it came at a time when my love for physically visiting the cinema had waned. Tickets were ever pricier, satisfaction levels harder to predict, my enthusiasm for taking that risk had levelled off despite my lifelong love of the full cinematic experience. EEAAO was, unequivocally, the movie that made me truly love cinema again. I saw it twice more, inspired in the process to found the Movie Club I now co-run in work!
I love it all, even certain gross/absurdist moments (well, except for one!) that would make me cringe elsewhere. I adore the choices, insane attention to detail, aesthetics, humour. The incredible & wildly imaginative visual effects, choreography, acting, settings, make-up & costumes - ohhh the costumes! 🥰 I was besotted with Jobu Tupaki's glorious array of outfits & the care that went into having them be thematically appropriate at any given moment. I love the sheer effort and attention that went into every single frame and how beautifully every sci-fi element was an apt yet simple metaphor for the intricacies and contradictions of real life.
It was sweet to see Ke Huy Quan make such a touching comeback; those moments between Waymond & Evelyn are so moving and his speech about choosing kindness adds layers of tears for me every time.
But, on a personal, bittersweet note, the thing I love most of all, is that at its heart this is a story of something that maybe isn't explored enough: the unique, often fraught, often unspeakably nuanced & difficult dynamic between mothers and daughters, and the legacy of that generational trauma. The way this film depicts that specific bond spoke to me profoundly, still stunning me now with its nuance and relatability.
I weep inconsolably every time and, imho, Stephanie Hsu should have absolutely run away with that Oscar win and I will proudly die on this hill 😊
Stephanie Hsu as Joy/Jobu Tupaki in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
My favorite character type: wears every color in the rainbow, has mommy issues and has felt every emotion to ever exist (an oversimplification but you get it).
Between Everything Everywhere All at Once and Spiderman Across the Spider Verse I have learned not to fuck with bagels ever