Her Story (2024)

loved, loved, loved this movie. It's delicate, daring, delightfully poignant, and hysterically hilarious. i spent much of the runtime in tears both from laughing and sobbing. i genuinely don't remember the last time i was laughing this hard during a movie at things that make my heart feel so full at the same time.

simply in terms of ideas, nothing here is particularly new or revolutionary, but the director's indefatigable wit makes everything go down so much more smoothly. everyone in my theater died at "how many Chizuko Ueno books have you read"?

being a single mom is hard. not being able to write about vacations abroad when everyone in your class does is hard. living in censorship when your dream is to be an investigative journalist is hard. falling in love with someone who won't love you back is hard. everyone stumbles and grow in this story. life is not what they want it to be, but they manage to reconcile without losing who they are or giving up things that bring them joy.

do you stop being a child when you realize not all your dreams will come true, no matter how hard you try? if so, can you ever rediscover that childlike wonder again? shao yihui does not tell you to be optimistic, but she wants you to be brave. at the end of the day that's the best anyone can do.