I think this is the first time I read a feature-length screenplay all the way through? I've looked up tons for specific portions but never committed to a whole read. I found out there was so much to dissect and it inspired me to start this series of script breakdowns!

First of all, it is a very writer-director script. I wouldn't recommend this script to someone wanting to learn screenwriting. There's instances of direction in here that she gets away with, because she'll be the one to direct it anyways. Unlike some other writer-directors, though, Celine is a *writer*, and the way she describes characters and situations is very poetic. Also something that can get new screenwriters in trouble.

Reading this for interest, however, is very lovely (and heartbreaking). An early moment that stood out to me was the last time Na Young and Hae Sung saw each other as kids:

"Hae Sung has so much to say, and he would articulate something if he wasn't all too young." (pg. 9)

Then, comparing this to the last time they see each other in New York, it was scripted as a full two minutes of silence before the Uber arrived. There are plenty of instances in the script where Celine describes adult Hae-Sung as child-like when talking to Nora. This prolonged silence is intense, and even more so because we know there is something he's been meaning to articulate for *decades*, but with Nora he still behaves "all too young". Even in spite of what Nora claims when he first arrived to New York, that they're no longer babies.

What didn't make the movie, however, is that right before Hae Sung gets in the Uber, there's an elaborate, sci-fi-esque flashback sequence to the scene on page 9. Their twelve-year-old selves still stand at a crossroads in Korea, but unlike the scene on page 9, it is nighttime. Celine writes it's "as though these kids have been waiting here in this spot for 24 years" (pg. 83). I agree with the decision to omit this sequence, but its existence in the script certainly had its impact in informing that the last scene needed to *really* feel like a full circle moment.

Breaking the proposed flashback sequence, Hae Sung finally gets to articulate what he needs to, a redemptive moment after 24 years. Right before he gets in the Uber, he alludes to their next life, signifying that he's come to accept the fate of who they are to each other in this one. This frees him from what has haunted him for so long, having left too much unsaid when they last had a chance to say good-bye in person.

The dialogue does a great job at having heavy implications while maintaining a natural subtlety. There's no better example in the film than the last line, "See you then," (pg. 83) in reference to their next life. It's ultimately a bittersweet admission that they probably should never see each other again in their current life, without having the awkward directness of setting that boundary.

Celine focused heavily on sprinkling mirroring imagery, situations, and sentiments throughout the script. Of the many I caught, and I'm sure there's many I didn't, there's two mirroring lines that really made me smile. When they both discover each other on Facebook, they have the same reaction...

From Nora's POV:

"Somehow his face is exactly as she remembers it, even though he is now a grown man. She can't help but smile a little." (pg. 14)

From Hae Sung's POV:

"Somehow, her face is exactly as he remembers it, even though she is now a grown woman. (...) He keeps looking at her face and smiling." (pg. 17)

There's also the moment when they first see each other in New York, both simultaneously realizing Hae Sung's real reason for being there:

"Nora sees Hae Sung and realizes, fuck, he's here to see me.
Hae Sung sees Nora and realizes, fuck, I'm here to see her." (pg. 46)

While many of these mirroring moments revolve around Nora and Hae Sung, there are also a few that involve comparisons of Hae Sung and Arthur. As we are introduced to the married lives of Nora and Arthur, we see that Arthur makes a great attempt at learning Korean. He notably attempts to say a common Korean phrase, the same one that Hae Sung says later to Nora in the park when they meet. Celine points this out with an important distinction:

"This is the same Korean phrase that Arthur knows and used earlier in the film, but it falls out completely differently from Hae Sung's mouth. It is more nuanced, more comfortable.

It fits better." (pg. 47)

This perfectly sets up a collision course for Hae Sung and Arthur later on, so that they can be more closely compared. The first moment of this interaction is detailed in Arthur's perspective, which is a rare moment in the script:

"Arthur takes in the view of his wife and her childhood sweetheart.

He is startled by the way they seem to fit together -- yes, they have the same skin color, but more importantly, they were born and partly raised in the same place. Their souls are tied together in that way." (pg. 68)

Then, Celine quickly switches to Hae Sung's perspective:

"Hae Sung sees Arthur, and he doesn't even know what to make of it. Hae Sung finds Arthur's unexpected seriousness and attractiveness striking. It honestly hasn't felt real until this moment that Nora is married to this white American." (pg. 68)

This tension obviously lingers through the climactic bar scene, but there's a moment when Nora leaves just the two of them to talk that I didn't feel the full weight of until reading the script. After Hae Sung apologizes for speaking in Korean with Nora, therefore excluding Arthur, they have a short chat about In-Yun, and then...

"Hae Sung becomes very emotional. He can't help himself but betray his feelings in front of Nora's husband (the one person he probably shouldn't show it to), hidden away from Nora.

It is very quiet and almost imperceptible, but he is in tears.

Arthur is not sure what he is supposed to say or do in response to that, so he just looks away and pretends not to notice. It's an act of kindness." (pg. 80)

This moment struck me more than maybe any other moment when reading. Arthur is, by self-admission, the third wheel in this story. The beauty of how this story unfolds is due in large part to his reaction to the situation, his kindness. It gives Hae Sung permission to find resolution and closure. Plus, Arthur's presence reveals to Hae Sung the most heartbreaking truth of all:

"who you are is someone who leaves" (pg. 76)

and...

"To Arthur, you're someone who stays." (pg. 78)

~ SCRIPT STATS ~

I screenshotted the script 33 times while reading. There is so much to chew on in this quick 85 page script. It breaks the 1:1 page to minute ratio quite considerably, as it produced a 106 minute film. I'm sure plenty of that was due to the long sequences of longing looks.

Excited to read more scripts and do further breakdowns like this!