There Are Just So Many Clever Little Details That Alice Wu Puts In This Movie And It's All Just Made

there are just so many clever little details that alice wu puts in this movie and it's all just made so much stronger by the filming of every. single. frame.

the little detail with the train lights and how ellie's dad didn't trust the train light to work— but because he loves his daughter so much, he realizes that he needs to let her go and so the camera briefly pans to the lights working again

paul continuing to listen and feeling sad for ellie's dad despite not understanding mandarin because he recognizes that sometimes we just want someone to listen to us

aster saying "deep down, i probably knew the truth... it's not like it's never crossed my mind" just brings so much more IMPACT to the hot springs scene. was it intentional? did aster bring ellie there to keep her all to herself, even if it was just for a few moments?

the way aster sinks into ellie as they kiss, and how her hand moves down to hold her arm like she's not ready to let go yet, but ellie cuts it off because well, she's a nervous disaster gay. the way aster smiles right afterwards and laughs. she hadn't felt that way after kissing ANYONE (at least in the movie) — we can presume that she's never really been interested in trip, and that her being with him was her trying to conform within the norms of the society she's been placed in; she'd never felt that ecstatic or excited. she had no reason to.

and then there was ellie. the girl that challenges her intellectually. and in that moment, despite feeling dazed and confused over these new feelings, aster was SURE of one thing: she FELT something in that kiss. unlike any other kisses shown in the movie, she FELT something.

and when paul was googling "how to know if you are gay"— a lot was left out in that scene. the viewer fills in the blanks after he says "there are SO many ways to love someone" which leaves us to imply he probably went on a deep dive and tried to educate himself on other types of sexualities because he truly cares about ellie. his friend.

"you could never be different," she says, mockingly. "what would God say?" oh the ISOLATION ellie feels in this small, predominantly white, conservative town where literally the only people of colour we see in the movie are her, her father, aster, and her family. aster and ellie's layers slowly being peeled off as the movie progresses and they bond through their shared differences.

this movie isn't a love story, as prefaced in the beginning. it's a coming of age movie that features young people slowly becoming more self-aware; it just happens to feature a lesbian protagonist. we need more stories like this, where being gay isn't the sole focal point of a plot.

god, i love this movie and all its nuances.

and i know alice wu wants the audience to fill-in-the-blanks, but i'd give ANYTHING to have a fun, stupid rom-com with these characters. a sequel set in the future where ellie and aster are confident in their identities.

if the straights can have their fun, stupid, mediocre rom-coms, the gays should too!!! i want fun, stupid, mediocre disaster gay rom-coms!!!