This Time (2023) Movie Script
1
Were you thinking
of someone in particular?
Uh. No. It's about--
It's about families. It's about
love. It's about war. It's about
our search for deeper
connection. It's about
being forcefully separated.
It's about my
experiences growing up.
Totally get it.
Go do your artsy thing, okay?
We love you. We're excited
and we'll see you tonight. Bye!
Where are you?
You sure you want to get rid
of these? I mean...
there's some old movies in here,
a lot of them are out of print.
Yeah, yeah. It's
time to move on.
You sound like my ex.
-Really?
-Yeah.
She made me throw
away my bootleg copy of Titanic.
Uh. That must've
been like two tapes?
It was. I stole it while I was
backpacking in Istanbul.
Yeah. I, uh, watched
it in the TV room with
this Israeli girl.
And, um, let's just
say best night ever. You know
what I mean?
And I do still watch Titanic
here and there, just,
when I get lonely. Don't judge
me about it, okay?
You know, that would
just ruin the movie for me
because I'd be watching it,
thinking about the memory
instead of enjoying it
in the moment.
Okay, well here's a
question for you.
If you had a time portal that
could take you to your favorite
memory of all time
would you do it?
Yeah, I guess my point
is that I know there
isn't one,
so I'm not gonna entertain
the thought because it would
just frustrate me.
Well, you don't know if there
isn't one, and I would jump head
first.
- Take me back to
Istanbul immediately.
-Alrighty.
-Yeah. Yeah, you're
probably right. Hey!
Promise me you'll survive.
That you won't give up,
no matter what happens,
no matter how hopeless.
Never let go, Jack.
Never. let. Go.
-I said never let go. No.
-Okay, let go.
-Let go.
-Okay, you can go.
Hey! Thank you for supporting
the cause.
You got it, buddy.
We appreciate it.
Laela?
Uh, oh. Oh my god, how are you?
I'm good. Yeah. You?
Good, yeah. You?
You're good. You already said
that. Uh, I'm sorry. I just,
um...
I--I know, this
is kinda surreal.
Yeah. Yes, it's not
everyday you run into a...
The most amazing human ever.
Yeah. Yeah. Something like that.
Well, I, uh, don't
wanna hold you up or...
No, no, my car is just around
the corner.
I'll walk with you.
Yeah. That'll be great.
It's a...
It's super muggy out
today.
Yeah... I kinda like it though.
Yeah. You, um, you always walk
around with DVDs?
Fuck! Oh my god I think I just
stole this.
It takes a certain kind
of scumbag to steal from
a struggling business.
Oh, I feel terrible.
It's fine, I'm sure they have a
ton of copies.
Uh. It gives me a chance to
go back.
Yeah.
What is that? Blind Chance?
Is that the one with the
guy who misses the train?
Yeah. They remade it in the 90s.
Oh yeah. Huh. Some things
you just Shouldn't remake.
It's really good
to see you, Colin.
Yeah. Yeah. It's
good to see you too.
So, what brings you
out here anyway?
Been here for a month, working,
on a sculpture. For the IRC,
for the refugee counsel.
-Oh. Wow.
-They're raising funds to
resettle families in the U.S.
That's really cool.
Yeah. But, I'm not
working with them
directly.
I'm going
through their marketing
PR agency,
-and oh my god...
-Horrible people?
Ugh. They're like people who
thought they could be creative
and be all business too.
Still. I mean, you're like a
full time artist?
Travel,
art, and philanthropy?
Yeah, that's me.
God. Look at you go.
I mean,
that's awesome.
You're living the dream.
Yeah, I love it.
It's been an adventure. My
next project is in KL.
I guess what I'm getting
at is, um, what are you
doing in South Pas?
-Oh, yes. Random, right?
-Right.
Oh, well, it's gonna sound weird
but...
everywhere I go I like
to check out the neighborhoods,
I'll notice that this
house is exactly the
same.
This one's been
remodeled. The family
station wagon and trampolines
replaced with this hot
convertible, and...
then I just make up a story
about what happened. I
don't know,
something I do for
for inspiration. Usually
when I have a creative block.
What?
Nothing. Just your, um, accent,
it's, uh, gone.
I mean, I'm
sure it's in there. Somewhere.
. I guess twenty years of moving
place to place will do that.
Yeah.
You know, most people
think of palm trees and
beaches, but...
this is exactly what I picture
when I think of California.
I've always wanted to
see them from the inside.
Hm. Ah, yes. The classic Cali
bungalow.
You know there's something
powerful about the
relationship between the columns
and the low pitch roofs.
Like it's going to stubbornly
stay in this spot forever. Ha.
Do you work for the
historical society or something?
Ha. No. I work with
an architectural firm.
-You're an architect?
-Uh, a consultant.
I, uh, do the marketing
for them.
-Oh, crap.
-Hotels and tourism boards.
Yeah. Horrible person.
Oh my god, I'm so
sorry about that marketing
comment. I'm so-
-That's fine.
-I'm...
Clearly time has turned you
into a thief
and just an all
around horrible person. so...
Ah... There's hope. I am not
that dead inside. I promise.
Yeah... Has it really been
twenty Years?
Twenty-three. Actually.
You're looking at me
like I'm a stranger. Am
I really that different?
I don't know. Maybe I'm just
shocked
that you're here right now.
I can't wrap my head around it.
-You're saying I've aged
aren't you?
-No, no! I'm not.
-That's totally
what you're saying!
-That's not what I'm saying.
Well, you're no spring chicken
either! Mister model.
Ex child model. And
you look great, by the way.
Yeah. Yeah. You're just trying
to get out of trouble now.
That's pretty much all the time.
Well, you look exactly
like I imagined you would.
Well, maybe it's, uh,
how quickly we all left Jakarta.
But, um, some
faces are just frozen in time.
Now there's a happy couple.
What's your last name?
Um... Sorry, what do you mean?
Lee! We're the Lees.
Just wipe your feet cause I
don't want anything coming in
here.
And shut the door
cause I don't flies coming into
this house. Okay.
Come on in. Settle
down. And just feel the
energy of this room.
The light in here is great.
-It is?
-Yeah. It's, uh,
not like our place.
Is it too dark?
No. It's, uh, too bright.
Yeah, we have to put on sun
block before bed,
the soft complexion of the face.
You don't want to
hear what I do before bed.
Okay, follow me.
Here we have a fantastic,
and I mean fantastic
dining room. But I hate
to cook, do you cook?
Uh, on, um, Mondays.
I hate to
cook. I hate people.
Fully remodeled
kitchen. Brand new
appliances.
Everywhere.
I mean, is this great
or what? And it's just
the perfect room for big family
gatherings.
People always end up
in the kitchen,
I don't know why.
- Yeah.
- Right this way. I want to
show you something.
This is my absolute,
favorite room.
Hey, what's with the plant pics?
Uh, taking reference
photos for my plant empire.
Uh huh. Yeah.
How's that going?
-Uh, I've never actually
owned one.
-Seriously?
-Yeah, I'm never
in the apartment.
-Absolutely my favorite room.
I'm talking to myself again.
Hello!
Mrs. Kim, come with me or
I'm going to steal your husband.
It's the Lees but it's fine.
Okay, now. Believe me,
I saved the best for last.
Look at this fabulous
backyard. You've got a
wonderful pool.
And what's great is that you
could have a meal out
here if you wanted to.
This would be perfect for Illy
when she has to go at night.
Aw, what breed is she?
The overbearing
kind. A real bitch.
Uh, that's not true at all.
Mother is just very particular.
Okay... Uh, the best thing
about the pool is just the right
size,
so that if you
wanted-- You hear that?
Hear what exactly?
The sound of children playing in
a backyard. Do ya have children?
- Yes.
- No.
Well, uh...
Well, there's time, I guess.
This again? How many times...
Really? Really? Not in public,
please.
You know what? I'm just going to
let You two discuss things for
a while.
- Her face, I mean...
- Oh my god.
That is it. I officially
retire from improv.
You're still pretty good though.
Ah, I know. But I
feel so gross now.
Well, regardless, I
owe you a coffee.
Ah, I can't...
Tea...? Beer...?
No, no. It's not that. It's
uh...
I'm actually leaving
for Pennsylvania tomorrow.
-Oh.
-Yeah...
How long are you gone for?
Uh, well, uh...
a couple of years. Um, maybe
more.
Oh... Gotcha.
Yeah...
You really need all
day to pack a suitcase?
Uh, no, it's not that.
It's uh, movers are
coming. It's a whole thing.
Oh, totally. I get it.
It would've been nice
to catch up though.
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
Uh, well, if you, um,
if you're heading back I
could give you a ride.
Back to your place.
You know, we could catch up on
the way.
Yeah... Sure... If that's cool?
Yeah! Totally, hop in!
It really is something
about the light here.
Yeah. Yeah. I
used to think so too.
Whenever it's humid like
this I think of Jakarta after it
rains.
You ever
get memory bombs like that?
Well, it's LA, so it hardly
ever rains. Not really.
Oh, come on. There
must be something.
Wha-- I don't know. Uh, the smog
And traffic?
Wha-- What?
I--I mean I haven't really
thought about going back to
any of the places I lived.
Why not?
I don't know. Just. Never felt
the need to.
It was a good time
but I don't miss it.
It was a really good time.
Dad retired this
year by the way.
What was his last
posting?
Beijing. Yup. Almost forty
years as a diplomat. End of
another era.
-Oh! I do
remember something!
-Yeah?
Yeah. The smell of open sewers
on a hot day after a flood.
- That's terrible!
- Who said
they had to be good?
Okay, well try digging a
little deeper.
Do you remember
our memory adventure game?
Oh. Was that that thing
we used to do by the pool?
Exactly!
What was it again? We
had to, uh, collect
like three ingredients?
Yeah! Yeah!
Oh my god!
Wha-- I don't remember!
Sunshine, water, and wind!
Oh, right, right. Sunshine,
water, and wind.
By our powers combined,
I. Am.
Captain! Plan--
Come on! Play along!
Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'll
play along. I'll play along.
If we focus on the
feeling of water evaporating
in the sun,
it'll feel like we're being
teleported to another time.
Uh huh.
Like we're, uh,
disintegrating piece by piece.
Ground control to
Col. Sagan, what's your status?
I'm on the dirt road
along the rice paddies
behind my house.
We're biking to our
little hut with...
a discman,
a pack of cigarettes,
some kind of bottle of
alcohol, probably Absolut.
And I'm enjoying
the ride but you're worried
about getting caught with a
joint in your pocket. But we
don't get caught.
Ok, my turn.
No!
So. Where are you based now?
London. Sydney before that.
Oh. What brought you there?
Work?
A divorce.
Oh. Ah. Sorry.
And you've been here...
In LA? Eleven years.
The States?
Since Jakarta.
You know, I was actually in
LA for a few months before.
Really?
Yeah.
No way! Get outta here! When?
It was right after my
divorce, six years ago.
You're kidding.
I'm not. It's funny because
I was on the way
to New York
from Sydney and I had
a connecting flight at LAX
but I didn't get on it.
Hmm.
Must've been the light.
It totally was the light.
Hey, uh, I kinda save these
for special occasions but,
uh, do you want one?
Yeah. Sure.
Give me that.
Not as easy as it looks.
Can't believe you
and me were in there same
city at the same time.
Well, we're here now.
- Sooo...
- This is the place?
- Yeah... we're getting
close. Getting pretty close.
- Are you sure?
Are you taking me
somewhere dangerous?
Um, actually, just
the left right up here.
Left here? Okay.
- This is pretty, uh...
- -It's kinda dangerous, but...
- Oh, I see...
- I'll protect you.
- Are we laughing?
- Yeah.
Why--why are we laughing?
I don't know. But it
feels good.
Yeah. Yeah, it does.
You wanna come up? See my work?
- You know, I'd love to.
- Oh, no, no. It's
cool.
-I'd love to. But you know...
-I know. I know.
but dudes are showing
up, and it's a whole thing.
No, no. I do. I do want to
check out your sculpture. I do.
I guess it's not everyday
you run into someone from
twenty years ago.
Someone
who doesn't ask where
you're from,
why you moved around so much...
What mix are you? Do you
know karate? Did you
ride tigers to school?
Exactly.
Yeah.
But... I got shit to do.
You got shit to do. Yeah.
Okay.
Well, I mean,
wanna help me pack?
Tempting but, I kinda have
this thing with the IRC people.
Right, of course, you
mentioned that. You have
actual work, um, to do.
Sorry, sorry. That was
silly of me to ask.
Run along now to your
plasters and clays.
No. Not this time.
This is my place.
Colin, this place looks amazing.
Yeah. Yeah. It's a shame the
new owners are tearing it down.
That's so sad.
The tragedy of Northeast LA.
-He looks friendly.
-Oh, yeah.
That's Ruben,
he doesn't look like it
but he's the neighborhood
gossip.
Here, take the
key and let yourself in.
Hey! Reuben!
Pilea Pepero.
Welcome to the chaos. I
swear it's not normally
like this.
Can I get you something to
drink? I think I'm down to tap
water and hard
liquor at this point.
I'm good, thanks.
Okay. Cool, well make yourself
at home.
Or, uh, whatever this
is. I'll be back in a sec.
It's a beautiful house.
It's so alive, and all
the plants! This view!
Yeah.
Holy shit! Is that the ocean?
Oh yeah. Like miles down there.
Past the smog. Yeah.
There's something super familiar
about LA to me.
It's like this sprawl reminds me
of an Asian city.
Yeah, I was in fourth grade
when we went on this
great American road trip.
Yeah, we lived in Poland
at the time and I remember
my mind was blown.
So much of everything:
landscapes, people, sense
of freedom.
We walked into a grocery store
and I was speechless.
So much stuff!
The consumerism here is insane.
Yeah and I was visiting
from a place with food
shortages!
We didn't
have access to cool
things but...
I remember being a really
happy kid.
And that's why you
came back and stayed?
Because of the grocery
stores and overconsumption?
No, that's not what I meant.
-God. That's what it is here!
-What?
Why it feels like Asia
here. It's this poverty gap.
Ok, take it easy,
it's not that bad here.
Oh my god! Have you
been downtown? You've
seen the tents, right?
Sure, LA has its problems
but what city doesn't?
Okay... Colin. C'mon. It's ok to
love a place but
love it for
its faults too. Don't pretend.
I love all of it! I love all of
it! I do.
Otherwise I wouldn't
have been so drawn to this city.
Do you feel accepted
here? I mean, for being...
What? Mixed?
Of all the cities I've lived in
this is as close as I've come.
I'm still not Asian enough and
I'm sure as hell not white
enough, but...
You know here, nobody cares.
So in a weird way
you can be yourself?
Yeah.
Well, in France I'm exotic
and in Korea I'm a big
disappointment.
Makes sense.
You know, of all the cities I've
lived, this is the one.
I've never really felt that.
About a place.
Where'd you go?
After the riots? Singapore.
A lot of Jakarta kids went
there actually.
Yeah. I'm glad you
guys got out okay.
Yeah. Well, Mom and I
did.
My father stayed back.
He thought he could save
what he built but he couldn't.
When things calmed down,
we went back and...
our entire neighborhood
had been burned to
the ground. We lost everything,
all the memories.
Damn. Sorry to hear that. Is he
okay? You know, safe, I mean.
Yeah, physically, but
he just wasn't the same
after that.
It was like
a light went out in his eyes.
That's terrible. I'm
sorry to hear that.
But I went back in 2008.
To Jakarta?
Yeah!
No way!
Uh, yeah.
Oh! Hey, is that Tanamur
place still there?
Ah! No! That place we ran into
your mom?
Yeah! Yeah. You know, she got
us wasted on those Singapore
slings.
My god. I forgot about that.
No. It's, um, yeah... It's all
gone.
Um, Jakarta
is completely rebuilt now.
-Shit...
-But, you know,
a part of me feels like it was
good that I went back
because it reinspired me to keep
seeing the world.
To keep the adventure going.
I love how the LA sun feels
on my skin.
You come out here
naked in the mornings?
No...
-Oh my god, why not? Are
you a puritan now?
-No.
-You've turned into a puritan.
-Oh my god,
Lae not everybody lives in
a Bertolucci film, okay?
Oh my god, I'd be out
here everyday enjoying this sun,
and air, on
your skin! It's like magic.
I'd be the crazy lady who
does this till she's eighty.
That doesn't surprise me.
Well, let's do it together.
Do what?
Enjoy some sun.
-No. What are you doing?
No, no. Get outta here.
-What?
-No. Absolutely not!
-Oh my god! It's
nothing I haven't seen!
I'm good, thank you.
I'm good.
Fine. I'll go solo.
What? No! No! No! No!
No! Do not! Okay!
I have neighbors. Jesus...
-Uh, um. Alright here. Okay,
so...
-Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Let's get to work. I'm here
to work. Pack your house.
Uh, so I'm going to
take Koji's room. If you want
to take the office.
There's some
sharpies in there, just need to
label all the boxes, office.
-Got it.
-Cool.
Who's Koji?
Uh... Koji is... my son.
-Cute.
-Yeah, he's four.
What's his mom's name?
Uh, Sofia.
Well, I'm sure she's as
beautiful as her name
suggests.
Probably very
smart too, knowing your
taste in women.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
She's punctual.
Punctual?
Oh, and she's other things
too. You know, she's, uh,
driven, and caring.
And she's a great mother.
And punctual.
That's not easy
to come by in LA.
How long have you been married?
Four. No.
Ah, shit. Sorry.
Five. Five years. Yeah.
Yeah, we got pregnant with Koji,
and um, we decided to
do the thing.
Fatherhood looks great on you.
Yeah. Fake it 'till you make it
I guess.
What do you mean?
Well, I'm just-- You know
I'm saying. You have plans
and then, you know,
your plans change and you kinda
have to put your
shit aside and make it up
as you go along. It's not like
when you're single and you
can just focus on yourself.
-Okay, well...
-Oh, That wasn't a dig at you.
I'm sorry.
Newsflash, being single sucks,
my friend,
especially at our age.
Everyone has shit to do and you
wake up every morning to an
empty bed and a quiet house.
Ah, you have no idea how
luxurious an empty bed
and quiet time sounds.
Yeah? Imagine it every day.
I once went two weeks without
contact with a single soul.
Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
not sold.
But, maybe being stuck indoors
with the right person
wouldn't be such a bad thing.
Right... Well... I'll
get started here.
Oh, that's probably the
movers.
-I should, uh, I should go--
-Yeah! Yeah. Go.
Let me know if
you need anything.
-Heya guys! I'm Colin.
-Hey what's up man?
We're the movers.
-I'm Mitch and this is
Earl. We're brown and move it
around town.
-Are you Colin?
-Yeah, I'm Colin.
You're Colin? Are you
sure? Alright,
so, uh, what are we
working with here?
Uh, yeah. This is, uh,
most of the stuff here.
These boxes, and, uh,
there's a few more upstairs.
Okay, upstairs. You got any
weird hipster shit we should
know about?
Last place we
moved out on York, homeboy had a
fucking aquarium
with some alien looking
fungus thing in brown water
he called Scooby.
Shit was gross, yeah?
Uh, no. No Scooby
here. Yeah, good there.
Um, you guys are moving
my car as well.
That needs to go down to the
depot for the move.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Definitely.
That's what
you're paying us for, right?
Is he okay?
What's up big guy?
Jordan. Aguinaldo.
Huh. Dude, I knew I
recognized this place!
This was like two different
places before. Like they
knocked down that wall.
Uh... Who is that?
We grew up here until like,
high school, y'know.
Like, Jordan was a homie
from back then.
Anywho, we got two extra guys,
six total, so,
we're looking at 45 tops down
here.
Uh, yeah. Sounds good. Uh, feel
free to send guys up when you
guys are finished up down here.
Alright!
-Dude.
-Yeah.
-Pretty nice.
-Yea.
gentrification is a trip.
Gen-tri-fication!
Hey Reuben.
I was seeing if you wanted to
take any of these plants.
I'm not running a Goodwill here,
Colin.
Alright, I'll, uh, see
if Maria wants them.
Uh, no, no, no, no.
She'll just let them die.
Come on, bring here.
You sure? I'm sure she'll
be happy to take them.
Yeah, yeah. Now stop whining.
Come on, hand them over!
-Mierda! Oh...
-Shit... Sorry.
Yeah, yeah. It's okay. It's just
water.
Old hands. This heat
isn't helping either. Sorry.
It's all good. Thanks.
Tomorrow's the day, huh?
Yeah... Yeah, it's hard
to believe.
Seems like we
just moved in yesterday.
I just wish you weren't
selling to those investors.
Yeah. Me too.
It's a sacred thing, a house.
You leave a piece of you in it.
I guess I never really look
at it that way.
If I had it my way,
we wouldn't be moving.
Thirsty much?
Yeah...
It's a hot one.
How do I look?
It always looked better on you.
Smoke?
There is no
smoking in the house.
Well... it's not your house
anymore and they're
tearing it down anyways.
Uh huh.
So... You, uh, found my stuff.
I don't know how I feel
about finding my work
in your donations pile.
Oh... Yeah. Uh. You know
honestly, I haven't
seen a lot of that stuff
in ages. It's just kind of,
you know, things.
Do you think I can
keep some of it?
Yeah. Uh, I mean,
it's your artwork.
I mean some of the other stuff.
Yeah, sure. It was just stuff I
was going to throw away anyways.
Like this tee?
Fuck! I love that tee.
You've tried to steal that
thing from me for years!
Well... I'm the one
that got it for you.
Mmhmm.
I'll think about it.
Well, I get what
I want eventually.
Why do you want this shit
anyway?
Mostly, they remind me of people
as they were at the time.
You ever think about if we had
social media back then? Or like
actually used email?
I think about that a lot.
We could've met up again.
Anyway. Uh, it must've
felt good to look back
at your work.
Y'know. See
how much you've grown.
Changed.
It's like seeing
an old friend.
You remember all the love you
gave it, how much it meant
to you,
who you were at the time. And
then you start wondering where
it all went wrong.
Yeah. Sometimes I think the
fantasy is better than
the reality.
Like, the idea of what could be
is better than what you get.
I guess we'll never really know.
Maybe it's exaggerated because
of the way we grew up. You
know, all the moving around.
Being dragged around the
world at the whim of
your parent's career?
All the sudden good-byes. Having
to box your life up again and
again.
Then unpacking and sorting
through the emotional
wreckage afterwards.
Yeah! Yeah. It forced
us to make these very intense
relationships so quickly.
I don't know about you,
but I feel like
the older I get
the fewer
of those meaningful
connections I make.
You know there's these
lines of a Rosetti poem
that I haven't been able
to shake since I read them.
"If you shall remember
me after a while,
do not grieve,
for if the darkness and
corruption leave,
a vestige of the thoughts
once I had,
better to smile and forget
than to remember
and be sad..."
Or something like that.
Squad goals.
Yeah.
It's a good one tonight.
A farewell gift I guess.
Something to remember her by.
What are you up to?
Welcome to the theater of
forgotten dreams.
-Okay, I'm gonna help you
with that because
-No! I got it.
-you don't know
what you're doing. You don't-
-I remember! Yeah, I do.
Look, I got it.
Wow...
Check this out.
- Wait...
is this the same bottle
from the drama exchange
in Bangkok?
Yeah. Yes it is.
Whoa.
Pick your poison.
I'll go with the big one.
Wow... who are those people?
I don't know.
To our health. May we keep it
after this drink.
-Sapa takut! (Deal!)
-Sapa takut!
Wow! Has that gone bad?
No, I think it's pretty much
supposed to taste like death.
I am definitely
getting flashbacks.
I--I--I think it's actually
gotten better over time.
Whoa. Look at this.
Really close talking.
Classic...
-Oh! You sneaky, sneaky!
-Yeah!
Is that our first
kiss? No, it wasn't.
Oh it's Elin! Aw, I haven't
thought of her in ages.
Yeah, did she end
up in Singapore?
No, her family went back to
Stockholm.
Apparently Elin
took her own life in '99.
No... Really?
I mean... She couldn't
handle being back
amongst her own anymore.
Perhaps she's
lucky for not making it out
of the 90s.
Yeah. That's
horrible. Skl to Elin!
We had some great conversations
though. Like, is sperm alive?
Are Lonely Planet guide books
simply a roadmap for invasion?
Why is the plural of moose not
meece when mice is to mouse?
You know, those guide books
actually are an extension of
colonialism.
Just like our
"international" schools.
Are you kidding?
You're kidding right?
Uh, no. Not really.
Our academic life shaped a very
inclusive view of the world for
all of us.
Sure, but think about it,
what makes an international
school "international"
in the first place?
Representation?
That's a starting point.
But then the students are
taught by English teachers,
on an American system
celebrating western holidays.
But that's not colonialism. They
didn't force it on the locals.
But kids from all over the
world are forced to speak
and communicate and learn
western culture and they get
sent back
to their own countries
practically as foreigners.
I mean think of all the
Japanese students who have to
go back to a strict
social hierarchy.
But the ideals were progressive!
You know what? I'm gonna
jump back ashore,
Christopher Columbus.
Just for a little safety.
I'll be--
Whatever you're half British!
- Ouch!
- I'm just saying that
we all came out with a wider
lens, a bigger view of
how the world works.
With an American filter.
Ok. Here's an example,
who's Madeleine Albright?
-Come on.
-What are you--
What even is this game?
Just play along. Just
play along. Who is
Madeleine Albright?
Oh my god... Okay,
former US Secretary of State
under Clinton.
Okay, who was her counterpart
in China?
-Come on. You can do it.
-Why?
-Cat's got your tongue?
-What is your point?
Do you need to call someone?
Do you know? Oh my god!
Okay, fine!
I get your point!
I am a colonizer.
No, I'm not saying you're a
colonizer. What I'm saying is,
you know, that we are products
of a colonialist system
and we can't change that, but,
yes, we can and we should
make things better.
Okay, well, clearly not everyone
agrees. Just look at how many
people didn't vote in 2016.
Yeah... I didn't...
What? What?
I didn't-- I didn't vote.
-Seriously?
-What? I mean...
California is a blue state
anyway. You gotta
contextualize these things.
What?
I can't belie- You can't
talk about change and not vote.
That's insane!
My vote wouldn't have made
a difference! Literally would
not have made a difference.
Okay, I don't believe you've
become an isolationist that
stays in his own bubble!
Bubble? Who's in a bubble?
Okay, colonialist upbringing
or not, we bridged differences
with each other because
we believed in a better world.
You're losing sight of that.
Yeah. Yeah. You're probably
right.
Just don't get so caught
up in the rat race that
you disconnect completely.
Look, I don't know about you
but I feel like it's the world
that moved on from me.
Y'know, we're raised to get
a steady job, a 401K,
a white picket fence.
That reality doesn't
exist anymore.
Whatever,
just gotta move forward and
not look back.
Why do you hate
our past so much?
Maybe I just look for
reasons to not want to go back.
It's the wanting I hate.
Wanting the impossible.
Oh, I think I remember this!
This is Ricardo's birthday!
Yeah! The Italian kid with
the opera mom! God, that was
the most dramatic song ever.
Buon compleanno a te...
She had this smoky voice,
and this sexy Italian accent.
- No, no,
please, Carmella.
- Yeah. That's it! That's it!
- That's it!
- Mrs. Di Benedetto is
my mother.
Laela, why do you dress
like a boy?
You must show your tits!
- Your tits.
- This is a woman! No?
Oh. Oh, my god.
-Ah, look at that.
-Oh my god...
Look at your hair. You should
grow your hair back out.
Uh, I don't know. I think I'm
past that.
It's tragic
because you would've left me
for another woman and when
you see this you're
gonna be like,
Oh damn! That girl was fine!
what the fuck was I doing
leaving her?
Oh...
I cannot live.
I cannot live without this eye...
You really... zoom that camera
right in there?
And... I would definitely...
Belly button?
I don't remember this...
And these jeans,
I don't think
they're necessary,
maybe you should get rid
of these jeans.
- Maybe you should
get rid of these jeans!
Oh... I don't think we need to
watch this part...
No! Wait, it's beautiful.
I mean, that's not even
us anymore, right?
Uh... Yeah... yeah. Right.
Totally. It's not us...
- Uh, I totally forgot we got
busted.
God... I have never seen
this. That's... exactly
how I remember him.
Yeah. I'll never
forget that voice.
Ah...
Bonjour les enfants.
I know what you were doing.
I was young once too you know.
I know you don't think so
but I was. Why is the old guy
always bothering us, huh?
-C'est a?
-Maybe one day you find this
and you are the same age
I am now,
well, that is your punishment,
okay?
And maybe the old guy thinks,
uh, you should not get too old
too fast. Huh?
It's a journey.
Enjoy your youth.
You okay?
Yeah... Yeah. I'm okay.
You still smell the same.
Do I smell like a teenager?
No, no, I mean. I don't know...
I should, uh, get
you some water.
I'm so fucking hungry!
What am I going to do with you?
Feed me!
Hmm. Okay, I will take
you to my favorite, secret spot,
but you have
to promise not to tell anyone.
Well, I have this rule with taco
trucks, that if there's two
flaming bulls on the side,
it usually means "stay the
fuck away, gringo. "
Double toros, got it!
Hold on, I'm shifting.
Is this where you bring
all your dates or just
the ones you murder?
Uh, only the ones that ask for
Sriracha.
Ugh, it's a Bon apptit
ingredient of the
year! Trop authentic.
Well, then, we might as
well go for some boba
after
'cause nothing says pan-Asian
commodity like a bubble drink.
Ooh... Dem's fightin' words!
Here it is.
My, um,
little slice of heaven.
Holy shit.
It's not Jakarta or Bangkok,
but it feels like a place I
can just disappear to.
I'm afraid we're going to have
to try every single thing here.
Well, if Phi Ae is here, you
have no choice in the matter.
-Mmm. Smells good.
-One of each?
-Uh, two... for me. Yeah.
-Two for you? Okay, I see.
-How many are you going
to have?
-Um,
- well, I thought we were going to share but...
- -Hi Colin!
Hey Phi Ae! Uh, this is my
friend Laela.
Hi Phi Ae! Nice to meet you.
You so skinny! What's wrong?
You don't like food? Go sit
over there...
before she pass out!
That was both comforting and
triggering at the same time.
I know. She can be
intense.
Do you hear that?
Not a word of English.
Exactly.
Just don't puke in the cab.
They charge extra for that.
Oh my god... I'm gonna explode.
Colin! Here, take this with you!
-Hey, Phi Ae.
What is--What is this?
-Some dessert.
For Koji.
He's going to love this.
Don't forget to eat! You look
better when you fat!
Thanks, Phi Ae!
Come on. Car's here.
You don't think Phi Ae
would mind if I brought my dates
there, do you?
I mean just the hot ones.
She's down, right?
Yeah, yeah. Totally.
And, y'know, if the dates
suck then you could, uh,
dump the bodies with her.
She knows all the spots.
Must've taken you a
while to build up that trust.
Yeah, we've, uh, we've
been going there for a
couple of years
and she only started talking to
me last summer, so...
Well, that's when you know
it's time to get going.
Before your roots dig in
too deep and it gets harder--
Harder to leave. I remember.
I don't know if I agree with
that anymore though.
Big mistake, buddy.
Laela. Some of
us have to grow up.
At least I didn't give up.
Laela. You can't keep running
your whole life.
Yeah, well, you can't
keep denying who you
are either.
This is the life we're given,
the best thing we can do
is find others like us.
Is that why you got divorced?
-Yeah. Yeah...
-Shit. Sorry I didn't mean it.
I didn't mean it like that.
Actually it is best fucking
decision I made.
Does that make you feel better?
-Are you happy now knowing that
you...
-That's not...
avoided this?
You got out when you did,
you avoided this loneliness!
-Laela, that's--
-Well done, Mr. Lang!
Congratulations
on winning at life.
You think I've won at life?
You think my life is better
than traveling and making art?
I haven't been inspired
in years.
All the other shit
I can deal with, but you have no
idea what it's like
to live day in and day out
and be so uninspired.
And here you are,
you have it all!
Almost...
You want me to drop you off?
Is it alright if I say no?
Yeah, that's okay.
Eh... Why not?
To... Jakarta.
To Singapore.
To... Los Angeles.
To the emotional wreckage.
- Mhmm.
- Yup. Yup.
-Yup.
-You know you're alive when you
can't feel the burn.
Yeah. That's not a good thing.
Y'know. I was doing so
well until today, you know?
I hadn't even thought about
the past, I put it all behind me
and you gotta show up
riding a tsunami of memories.
I like me here. Y'know, I like.
I like me here.
And yet you're moving again.
Well, I'm not moving for me,
you know. I'm not moving
because I'm lonely.
No. You're moving for
someone else. Again.
Just like when your parents
moved you around.
Shows you haven't put anything
behind you.
Yep.
You know, we have lifetimes of
experience crammed into
eighteen years.
That's what makes us different.
That's why being together
is easy.
This... this is what's right.
Embrace it.
If only we had met up six years
ago all this could be us.
This is us.
May I?
Yeah, yeah. I want you to.
I want you to.
Sometimes, when I can't
think of how to start on a
piece,
I'll put my hands
on the clay and think of you.
Really?
Yeah. Remembering how your
skin feels. I imagine all
your lines and contours
It's not the same body anymore.
We'll find you.
That bad, huh?
I'll let you know.
Don't even want to look at me.
There's a mole here.
Uh huh.
This is the rib-- this one?
No, this is the rib you
cracked on the school fence.
-Yeah, that's good. That one.
-Great, this one?
That's a good memory.
I really needed that
pack of cigarettes apparently.
Are you alright? You're shaking.
Yeah, my skin feels alive.
This is my favorite line.
Ha, yeah. I bet you
tell that to all the boys.
No, I mean--I mean, not this
line. Other lines.
Uh huh.
Yeah? So what
makes it so special?
Mmm, because I know
what it feels like
to put my head on it.
Yeah? What does it feel like?
Home.
There he is.
Of all the times, you just had
to walk back into my life now.
Yeah, right now, when
it's finally just you and me.
This is new?
Uh...
A biking accident.
This. This doesn't feel...
I know...
Pileo-pepero-something.
Hey, how's it going?
I just need a sec.
Who wants coffee?
Your coffee and croissant,
Monsieur Colin!
Lae? Hey!
-Oh fuck...
-Hey, what's going on?
They packed your coffee.
What?
I went out to get coffee.
Hey, hey. I thought you said
we weren't going to do--
I--
What? What's go--
Hey, hey, hey.
I thought you fucking left
without saying goodbye.
I just went over to Reuben's to
drop my spare key off.
I thought I lost you again.
Lae...
-This is stupid. I feel stupid.
-You're not stupid.
You're not-- Look, I just went
over to Reuben's
to drop my key off.
My ride is here.
Hey... Where's my fucking
coffee?
Hey, you know, I...
I had this whole speech prepared
if I ever saw you again.
Yeah, the feelings,
they just compound and then
you don't know if that's how
you really ever felt or... feel.
Tell me.
That's the thing. Yep.
Now you're in front of me,
I can't remember
a damn word.
The feelings though, they...
they remain.
We don't have to go
just yet.
We can stay a little
longer. No one has to know.
Yeah. I didn't like the
way things ended last night.
At the same time it was the best
night in a long time.
Yeah. Kinda feel like it
was supposed to be like that.
All we can do
is embrace the present.
You know that scar on my side?
The bike accident?
Yeah. I got it on the
worst night of my life.
I was... blackout drunk.
I was going through a bunch
of unprocessed bullshit.
Never quite fitting in.
Never quite wanting to stay put.
Nothing new. We did our
fair share of drinking
back in the day too.
Yeah, we did, but...
that was just
for the sake of it.
This was about being numb.
I swerved my bike
into a parked car.
-Shit...
-It's so silly.
I remember thinking
the car was moving.
Colin... I wish I could've
been there for you.
That's the thing.
I ran into Sofia's car.
That's how we met.
And suddenly, the worst night of
my life turned into the best.
Yeah... I know...
It's fucked up.
-The teenager in me is
screaming on the inside.
-No, don't do that.
I'd give it all up to do it
over again. Do it differently.
Yeah. I get that, but...
that's why I have to go.
Because I wouldn't
change it for the world.
I just don't want it to end.
You'll always have
the best part of me.
Hm.
-Okay?
-Okay.
-Okay?
-Okay.
Yeah... Okay...
Okay.
Yeah. Um, is it cool if
I just chill here for a bit?
Yeah, yeah. Stay as long as you
need.
Better yet, make an offer.
That way I don't have to sell
to investors.
Maybe I will.
There's a box of memories over
there and a plant.
Consider it a housewarming gift.
Hey.
Sapa-takut.
Ciao, Laela.
Were you thinking
of someone in particular?
Uh. No. It's about--
It's about families. It's about
love. It's about war. It's about
our search for deeper
connection. It's about
being forcefully separated.
It's about my
experiences growing up.
Totally get it.
Go do your artsy thing, okay?
We love you. We're excited
and we'll see you tonight. Bye!
Where are you?
You sure you want to get rid
of these? I mean...
there's some old movies in here,
a lot of them are out of print.
Yeah, yeah. It's
time to move on.
You sound like my ex.
-Really?
-Yeah.
She made me throw
away my bootleg copy of Titanic.
Uh. That must've
been like two tapes?
It was. I stole it while I was
backpacking in Istanbul.
Yeah. I, uh, watched
it in the TV room with
this Israeli girl.
And, um, let's just
say best night ever. You know
what I mean?
And I do still watch Titanic
here and there, just,
when I get lonely. Don't judge
me about it, okay?
You know, that would
just ruin the movie for me
because I'd be watching it,
thinking about the memory
instead of enjoying it
in the moment.
Okay, well here's a
question for you.
If you had a time portal that
could take you to your favorite
memory of all time
would you do it?
Yeah, I guess my point
is that I know there
isn't one,
so I'm not gonna entertain
the thought because it would
just frustrate me.
Well, you don't know if there
isn't one, and I would jump head
first.
- Take me back to
Istanbul immediately.
-Alrighty.
-Yeah. Yeah, you're
probably right. Hey!
Promise me you'll survive.
That you won't give up,
no matter what happens,
no matter how hopeless.
Never let go, Jack.
Never. let. Go.
-I said never let go. No.
-Okay, let go.
-Let go.
-Okay, you can go.
Hey! Thank you for supporting
the cause.
You got it, buddy.
We appreciate it.
Laela?
Uh, oh. Oh my god, how are you?
I'm good. Yeah. You?
Good, yeah. You?
You're good. You already said
that. Uh, I'm sorry. I just,
um...
I--I know, this
is kinda surreal.
Yeah. Yes, it's not
everyday you run into a...
The most amazing human ever.
Yeah. Yeah. Something like that.
Well, I, uh, don't
wanna hold you up or...
No, no, my car is just around
the corner.
I'll walk with you.
Yeah. That'll be great.
It's a...
It's super muggy out
today.
Yeah... I kinda like it though.
Yeah. You, um, you always walk
around with DVDs?
Fuck! Oh my god I think I just
stole this.
It takes a certain kind
of scumbag to steal from
a struggling business.
Oh, I feel terrible.
It's fine, I'm sure they have a
ton of copies.
Uh. It gives me a chance to
go back.
Yeah.
What is that? Blind Chance?
Is that the one with the
guy who misses the train?
Yeah. They remade it in the 90s.
Oh yeah. Huh. Some things
you just Shouldn't remake.
It's really good
to see you, Colin.
Yeah. Yeah. It's
good to see you too.
So, what brings you
out here anyway?
Been here for a month, working,
on a sculpture. For the IRC,
for the refugee counsel.
-Oh. Wow.
-They're raising funds to
resettle families in the U.S.
That's really cool.
Yeah. But, I'm not
working with them
directly.
I'm going
through their marketing
PR agency,
-and oh my god...
-Horrible people?
Ugh. They're like people who
thought they could be creative
and be all business too.
Still. I mean, you're like a
full time artist?
Travel,
art, and philanthropy?
Yeah, that's me.
God. Look at you go.
I mean,
that's awesome.
You're living the dream.
Yeah, I love it.
It's been an adventure. My
next project is in KL.
I guess what I'm getting
at is, um, what are you
doing in South Pas?
-Oh, yes. Random, right?
-Right.
Oh, well, it's gonna sound weird
but...
everywhere I go I like
to check out the neighborhoods,
I'll notice that this
house is exactly the
same.
This one's been
remodeled. The family
station wagon and trampolines
replaced with this hot
convertible, and...
then I just make up a story
about what happened. I
don't know,
something I do for
for inspiration. Usually
when I have a creative block.
What?
Nothing. Just your, um, accent,
it's, uh, gone.
I mean, I'm
sure it's in there. Somewhere.
. I guess twenty years of moving
place to place will do that.
Yeah.
You know, most people
think of palm trees and
beaches, but...
this is exactly what I picture
when I think of California.
I've always wanted to
see them from the inside.
Hm. Ah, yes. The classic Cali
bungalow.
You know there's something
powerful about the
relationship between the columns
and the low pitch roofs.
Like it's going to stubbornly
stay in this spot forever. Ha.
Do you work for the
historical society or something?
Ha. No. I work with
an architectural firm.
-You're an architect?
-Uh, a consultant.
I, uh, do the marketing
for them.
-Oh, crap.
-Hotels and tourism boards.
Yeah. Horrible person.
Oh my god, I'm so
sorry about that marketing
comment. I'm so-
-That's fine.
-I'm...
Clearly time has turned you
into a thief
and just an all
around horrible person. so...
Ah... There's hope. I am not
that dead inside. I promise.
Yeah... Has it really been
twenty Years?
Twenty-three. Actually.
You're looking at me
like I'm a stranger. Am
I really that different?
I don't know. Maybe I'm just
shocked
that you're here right now.
I can't wrap my head around it.
-You're saying I've aged
aren't you?
-No, no! I'm not.
-That's totally
what you're saying!
-That's not what I'm saying.
Well, you're no spring chicken
either! Mister model.
Ex child model. And
you look great, by the way.
Yeah. Yeah. You're just trying
to get out of trouble now.
That's pretty much all the time.
Well, you look exactly
like I imagined you would.
Well, maybe it's, uh,
how quickly we all left Jakarta.
But, um, some
faces are just frozen in time.
Now there's a happy couple.
What's your last name?
Um... Sorry, what do you mean?
Lee! We're the Lees.
Just wipe your feet cause I
don't want anything coming in
here.
And shut the door
cause I don't flies coming into
this house. Okay.
Come on in. Settle
down. And just feel the
energy of this room.
The light in here is great.
-It is?
-Yeah. It's, uh,
not like our place.
Is it too dark?
No. It's, uh, too bright.
Yeah, we have to put on sun
block before bed,
the soft complexion of the face.
You don't want to
hear what I do before bed.
Okay, follow me.
Here we have a fantastic,
and I mean fantastic
dining room. But I hate
to cook, do you cook?
Uh, on, um, Mondays.
I hate to
cook. I hate people.
Fully remodeled
kitchen. Brand new
appliances.
Everywhere.
I mean, is this great
or what? And it's just
the perfect room for big family
gatherings.
People always end up
in the kitchen,
I don't know why.
- Yeah.
- Right this way. I want to
show you something.
This is my absolute,
favorite room.
Hey, what's with the plant pics?
Uh, taking reference
photos for my plant empire.
Uh huh. Yeah.
How's that going?
-Uh, I've never actually
owned one.
-Seriously?
-Yeah, I'm never
in the apartment.
-Absolutely my favorite room.
I'm talking to myself again.
Hello!
Mrs. Kim, come with me or
I'm going to steal your husband.
It's the Lees but it's fine.
Okay, now. Believe me,
I saved the best for last.
Look at this fabulous
backyard. You've got a
wonderful pool.
And what's great is that you
could have a meal out
here if you wanted to.
This would be perfect for Illy
when she has to go at night.
Aw, what breed is she?
The overbearing
kind. A real bitch.
Uh, that's not true at all.
Mother is just very particular.
Okay... Uh, the best thing
about the pool is just the right
size,
so that if you
wanted-- You hear that?
Hear what exactly?
The sound of children playing in
a backyard. Do ya have children?
- Yes.
- No.
Well, uh...
Well, there's time, I guess.
This again? How many times...
Really? Really? Not in public,
please.
You know what? I'm just going to
let You two discuss things for
a while.
- Her face, I mean...
- Oh my god.
That is it. I officially
retire from improv.
You're still pretty good though.
Ah, I know. But I
feel so gross now.
Well, regardless, I
owe you a coffee.
Ah, I can't...
Tea...? Beer...?
No, no. It's not that. It's
uh...
I'm actually leaving
for Pennsylvania tomorrow.
-Oh.
-Yeah...
How long are you gone for?
Uh, well, uh...
a couple of years. Um, maybe
more.
Oh... Gotcha.
Yeah...
You really need all
day to pack a suitcase?
Uh, no, it's not that.
It's uh, movers are
coming. It's a whole thing.
Oh, totally. I get it.
It would've been nice
to catch up though.
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
Uh, well, if you, um,
if you're heading back I
could give you a ride.
Back to your place.
You know, we could catch up on
the way.
Yeah... Sure... If that's cool?
Yeah! Totally, hop in!
It really is something
about the light here.
Yeah. Yeah. I
used to think so too.
Whenever it's humid like
this I think of Jakarta after it
rains.
You ever
get memory bombs like that?
Well, it's LA, so it hardly
ever rains. Not really.
Oh, come on. There
must be something.
Wha-- I don't know. Uh, the smog
And traffic?
Wha-- What?
I--I mean I haven't really
thought about going back to
any of the places I lived.
Why not?
I don't know. Just. Never felt
the need to.
It was a good time
but I don't miss it.
It was a really good time.
Dad retired this
year by the way.
What was his last
posting?
Beijing. Yup. Almost forty
years as a diplomat. End of
another era.
-Oh! I do
remember something!
-Yeah?
Yeah. The smell of open sewers
on a hot day after a flood.
- That's terrible!
- Who said
they had to be good?
Okay, well try digging a
little deeper.
Do you remember
our memory adventure game?
Oh. Was that that thing
we used to do by the pool?
Exactly!
What was it again? We
had to, uh, collect
like three ingredients?
Yeah! Yeah!
Oh my god!
Wha-- I don't remember!
Sunshine, water, and wind!
Oh, right, right. Sunshine,
water, and wind.
By our powers combined,
I. Am.
Captain! Plan--
Come on! Play along!
Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'll
play along. I'll play along.
If we focus on the
feeling of water evaporating
in the sun,
it'll feel like we're being
teleported to another time.
Uh huh.
Like we're, uh,
disintegrating piece by piece.
Ground control to
Col. Sagan, what's your status?
I'm on the dirt road
along the rice paddies
behind my house.
We're biking to our
little hut with...
a discman,
a pack of cigarettes,
some kind of bottle of
alcohol, probably Absolut.
And I'm enjoying
the ride but you're worried
about getting caught with a
joint in your pocket. But we
don't get caught.
Ok, my turn.
No!
So. Where are you based now?
London. Sydney before that.
Oh. What brought you there?
Work?
A divorce.
Oh. Ah. Sorry.
And you've been here...
In LA? Eleven years.
The States?
Since Jakarta.
You know, I was actually in
LA for a few months before.
Really?
Yeah.
No way! Get outta here! When?
It was right after my
divorce, six years ago.
You're kidding.
I'm not. It's funny because
I was on the way
to New York
from Sydney and I had
a connecting flight at LAX
but I didn't get on it.
Hmm.
Must've been the light.
It totally was the light.
Hey, uh, I kinda save these
for special occasions but,
uh, do you want one?
Yeah. Sure.
Give me that.
Not as easy as it looks.
Can't believe you
and me were in there same
city at the same time.
Well, we're here now.
- Sooo...
- This is the place?
- Yeah... we're getting
close. Getting pretty close.
- Are you sure?
Are you taking me
somewhere dangerous?
Um, actually, just
the left right up here.
Left here? Okay.
- This is pretty, uh...
- -It's kinda dangerous, but...
- Oh, I see...
- I'll protect you.
- Are we laughing?
- Yeah.
Why--why are we laughing?
I don't know. But it
feels good.
Yeah. Yeah, it does.
You wanna come up? See my work?
- You know, I'd love to.
- Oh, no, no. It's
cool.
-I'd love to. But you know...
-I know. I know.
but dudes are showing
up, and it's a whole thing.
No, no. I do. I do want to
check out your sculpture. I do.
I guess it's not everyday
you run into someone from
twenty years ago.
Someone
who doesn't ask where
you're from,
why you moved around so much...
What mix are you? Do you
know karate? Did you
ride tigers to school?
Exactly.
Yeah.
But... I got shit to do.
You got shit to do. Yeah.
Okay.
Well, I mean,
wanna help me pack?
Tempting but, I kinda have
this thing with the IRC people.
Right, of course, you
mentioned that. You have
actual work, um, to do.
Sorry, sorry. That was
silly of me to ask.
Run along now to your
plasters and clays.
No. Not this time.
This is my place.
Colin, this place looks amazing.
Yeah. Yeah. It's a shame the
new owners are tearing it down.
That's so sad.
The tragedy of Northeast LA.
-He looks friendly.
-Oh, yeah.
That's Ruben,
he doesn't look like it
but he's the neighborhood
gossip.
Here, take the
key and let yourself in.
Hey! Reuben!
Pilea Pepero.
Welcome to the chaos. I
swear it's not normally
like this.
Can I get you something to
drink? I think I'm down to tap
water and hard
liquor at this point.
I'm good, thanks.
Okay. Cool, well make yourself
at home.
Or, uh, whatever this
is. I'll be back in a sec.
It's a beautiful house.
It's so alive, and all
the plants! This view!
Yeah.
Holy shit! Is that the ocean?
Oh yeah. Like miles down there.
Past the smog. Yeah.
There's something super familiar
about LA to me.
It's like this sprawl reminds me
of an Asian city.
Yeah, I was in fourth grade
when we went on this
great American road trip.
Yeah, we lived in Poland
at the time and I remember
my mind was blown.
So much of everything:
landscapes, people, sense
of freedom.
We walked into a grocery store
and I was speechless.
So much stuff!
The consumerism here is insane.
Yeah and I was visiting
from a place with food
shortages!
We didn't
have access to cool
things but...
I remember being a really
happy kid.
And that's why you
came back and stayed?
Because of the grocery
stores and overconsumption?
No, that's not what I meant.
-God. That's what it is here!
-What?
Why it feels like Asia
here. It's this poverty gap.
Ok, take it easy,
it's not that bad here.
Oh my god! Have you
been downtown? You've
seen the tents, right?
Sure, LA has its problems
but what city doesn't?
Okay... Colin. C'mon. It's ok to
love a place but
love it for
its faults too. Don't pretend.
I love all of it! I love all of
it! I do.
Otherwise I wouldn't
have been so drawn to this city.
Do you feel accepted
here? I mean, for being...
What? Mixed?
Of all the cities I've lived in
this is as close as I've come.
I'm still not Asian enough and
I'm sure as hell not white
enough, but...
You know here, nobody cares.
So in a weird way
you can be yourself?
Yeah.
Well, in France I'm exotic
and in Korea I'm a big
disappointment.
Makes sense.
You know, of all the cities I've
lived, this is the one.
I've never really felt that.
About a place.
Where'd you go?
After the riots? Singapore.
A lot of Jakarta kids went
there actually.
Yeah. I'm glad you
guys got out okay.
Yeah. Well, Mom and I
did.
My father stayed back.
He thought he could save
what he built but he couldn't.
When things calmed down,
we went back and...
our entire neighborhood
had been burned to
the ground. We lost everything,
all the memories.
Damn. Sorry to hear that. Is he
okay? You know, safe, I mean.
Yeah, physically, but
he just wasn't the same
after that.
It was like
a light went out in his eyes.
That's terrible. I'm
sorry to hear that.
But I went back in 2008.
To Jakarta?
Yeah!
No way!
Uh, yeah.
Oh! Hey, is that Tanamur
place still there?
Ah! No! That place we ran into
your mom?
Yeah! Yeah. You know, she got
us wasted on those Singapore
slings.
My god. I forgot about that.
No. It's, um, yeah... It's all
gone.
Um, Jakarta
is completely rebuilt now.
-Shit...
-But, you know,
a part of me feels like it was
good that I went back
because it reinspired me to keep
seeing the world.
To keep the adventure going.
I love how the LA sun feels
on my skin.
You come out here
naked in the mornings?
No...
-Oh my god, why not? Are
you a puritan now?
-No.
-You've turned into a puritan.
-Oh my god,
Lae not everybody lives in
a Bertolucci film, okay?
Oh my god, I'd be out
here everyday enjoying this sun,
and air, on
your skin! It's like magic.
I'd be the crazy lady who
does this till she's eighty.
That doesn't surprise me.
Well, let's do it together.
Do what?
Enjoy some sun.
-No. What are you doing?
No, no. Get outta here.
-What?
-No. Absolutely not!
-Oh my god! It's
nothing I haven't seen!
I'm good, thank you.
I'm good.
Fine. I'll go solo.
What? No! No! No! No!
No! Do not! Okay!
I have neighbors. Jesus...
-Uh, um. Alright here. Okay,
so...
-Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Let's get to work. I'm here
to work. Pack your house.
Uh, so I'm going to
take Koji's room. If you want
to take the office.
There's some
sharpies in there, just need to
label all the boxes, office.
-Got it.
-Cool.
Who's Koji?
Uh... Koji is... my son.
-Cute.
-Yeah, he's four.
What's his mom's name?
Uh, Sofia.
Well, I'm sure she's as
beautiful as her name
suggests.
Probably very
smart too, knowing your
taste in women.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
She's punctual.
Punctual?
Oh, and she's other things
too. You know, she's, uh,
driven, and caring.
And she's a great mother.
And punctual.
That's not easy
to come by in LA.
How long have you been married?
Four. No.
Ah, shit. Sorry.
Five. Five years. Yeah.
Yeah, we got pregnant with Koji,
and um, we decided to
do the thing.
Fatherhood looks great on you.
Yeah. Fake it 'till you make it
I guess.
What do you mean?
Well, I'm just-- You know
I'm saying. You have plans
and then, you know,
your plans change and you kinda
have to put your
shit aside and make it up
as you go along. It's not like
when you're single and you
can just focus on yourself.
-Okay, well...
-Oh, That wasn't a dig at you.
I'm sorry.
Newsflash, being single sucks,
my friend,
especially at our age.
Everyone has shit to do and you
wake up every morning to an
empty bed and a quiet house.
Ah, you have no idea how
luxurious an empty bed
and quiet time sounds.
Yeah? Imagine it every day.
I once went two weeks without
contact with a single soul.
Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
not sold.
But, maybe being stuck indoors
with the right person
wouldn't be such a bad thing.
Right... Well... I'll
get started here.
Oh, that's probably the
movers.
-I should, uh, I should go--
-Yeah! Yeah. Go.
Let me know if
you need anything.
-Heya guys! I'm Colin.
-Hey what's up man?
We're the movers.
-I'm Mitch and this is
Earl. We're brown and move it
around town.
-Are you Colin?
-Yeah, I'm Colin.
You're Colin? Are you
sure? Alright,
so, uh, what are we
working with here?
Uh, yeah. This is, uh,
most of the stuff here.
These boxes, and, uh,
there's a few more upstairs.
Okay, upstairs. You got any
weird hipster shit we should
know about?
Last place we
moved out on York, homeboy had a
fucking aquarium
with some alien looking
fungus thing in brown water
he called Scooby.
Shit was gross, yeah?
Uh, no. No Scooby
here. Yeah, good there.
Um, you guys are moving
my car as well.
That needs to go down to the
depot for the move.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Definitely.
That's what
you're paying us for, right?
Is he okay?
What's up big guy?
Jordan. Aguinaldo.
Huh. Dude, I knew I
recognized this place!
This was like two different
places before. Like they
knocked down that wall.
Uh... Who is that?
We grew up here until like,
high school, y'know.
Like, Jordan was a homie
from back then.
Anywho, we got two extra guys,
six total, so,
we're looking at 45 tops down
here.
Uh, yeah. Sounds good. Uh, feel
free to send guys up when you
guys are finished up down here.
Alright!
-Dude.
-Yeah.
-Pretty nice.
-Yea.
gentrification is a trip.
Gen-tri-fication!
Hey Reuben.
I was seeing if you wanted to
take any of these plants.
I'm not running a Goodwill here,
Colin.
Alright, I'll, uh, see
if Maria wants them.
Uh, no, no, no, no.
She'll just let them die.
Come on, bring here.
You sure? I'm sure she'll
be happy to take them.
Yeah, yeah. Now stop whining.
Come on, hand them over!
-Mierda! Oh...
-Shit... Sorry.
Yeah, yeah. It's okay. It's just
water.
Old hands. This heat
isn't helping either. Sorry.
It's all good. Thanks.
Tomorrow's the day, huh?
Yeah... Yeah, it's hard
to believe.
Seems like we
just moved in yesterday.
I just wish you weren't
selling to those investors.
Yeah. Me too.
It's a sacred thing, a house.
You leave a piece of you in it.
I guess I never really look
at it that way.
If I had it my way,
we wouldn't be moving.
Thirsty much?
Yeah...
It's a hot one.
How do I look?
It always looked better on you.
Smoke?
There is no
smoking in the house.
Well... it's not your house
anymore and they're
tearing it down anyways.
Uh huh.
So... You, uh, found my stuff.
I don't know how I feel
about finding my work
in your donations pile.
Oh... Yeah. Uh. You know
honestly, I haven't
seen a lot of that stuff
in ages. It's just kind of,
you know, things.
Do you think I can
keep some of it?
Yeah. Uh, I mean,
it's your artwork.
I mean some of the other stuff.
Yeah, sure. It was just stuff I
was going to throw away anyways.
Like this tee?
Fuck! I love that tee.
You've tried to steal that
thing from me for years!
Well... I'm the one
that got it for you.
Mmhmm.
I'll think about it.
Well, I get what
I want eventually.
Why do you want this shit
anyway?
Mostly, they remind me of people
as they were at the time.
You ever think about if we had
social media back then? Or like
actually used email?
I think about that a lot.
We could've met up again.
Anyway. Uh, it must've
felt good to look back
at your work.
Y'know. See
how much you've grown.
Changed.
It's like seeing
an old friend.
You remember all the love you
gave it, how much it meant
to you,
who you were at the time. And
then you start wondering where
it all went wrong.
Yeah. Sometimes I think the
fantasy is better than
the reality.
Like, the idea of what could be
is better than what you get.
I guess we'll never really know.
Maybe it's exaggerated because
of the way we grew up. You
know, all the moving around.
Being dragged around the
world at the whim of
your parent's career?
All the sudden good-byes. Having
to box your life up again and
again.
Then unpacking and sorting
through the emotional
wreckage afterwards.
Yeah! Yeah. It forced
us to make these very intense
relationships so quickly.
I don't know about you,
but I feel like
the older I get
the fewer
of those meaningful
connections I make.
You know there's these
lines of a Rosetti poem
that I haven't been able
to shake since I read them.
"If you shall remember
me after a while,
do not grieve,
for if the darkness and
corruption leave,
a vestige of the thoughts
once I had,
better to smile and forget
than to remember
and be sad..."
Or something like that.
Squad goals.
Yeah.
It's a good one tonight.
A farewell gift I guess.
Something to remember her by.
What are you up to?
Welcome to the theater of
forgotten dreams.
-Okay, I'm gonna help you
with that because
-No! I got it.
-you don't know
what you're doing. You don't-
-I remember! Yeah, I do.
Look, I got it.
Wow...
Check this out.
- Wait...
is this the same bottle
from the drama exchange
in Bangkok?
Yeah. Yes it is.
Whoa.
Pick your poison.
I'll go with the big one.
Wow... who are those people?
I don't know.
To our health. May we keep it
after this drink.
-Sapa takut! (Deal!)
-Sapa takut!
Wow! Has that gone bad?
No, I think it's pretty much
supposed to taste like death.
I am definitely
getting flashbacks.
I--I--I think it's actually
gotten better over time.
Whoa. Look at this.
Really close talking.
Classic...
-Oh! You sneaky, sneaky!
-Yeah!
Is that our first
kiss? No, it wasn't.
Oh it's Elin! Aw, I haven't
thought of her in ages.
Yeah, did she end
up in Singapore?
No, her family went back to
Stockholm.
Apparently Elin
took her own life in '99.
No... Really?
I mean... She couldn't
handle being back
amongst her own anymore.
Perhaps she's
lucky for not making it out
of the 90s.
Yeah. That's
horrible. Skl to Elin!
We had some great conversations
though. Like, is sperm alive?
Are Lonely Planet guide books
simply a roadmap for invasion?
Why is the plural of moose not
meece when mice is to mouse?
You know, those guide books
actually are an extension of
colonialism.
Just like our
"international" schools.
Are you kidding?
You're kidding right?
Uh, no. Not really.
Our academic life shaped a very
inclusive view of the world for
all of us.
Sure, but think about it,
what makes an international
school "international"
in the first place?
Representation?
That's a starting point.
But then the students are
taught by English teachers,
on an American system
celebrating western holidays.
But that's not colonialism. They
didn't force it on the locals.
But kids from all over the
world are forced to speak
and communicate and learn
western culture and they get
sent back
to their own countries
practically as foreigners.
I mean think of all the
Japanese students who have to
go back to a strict
social hierarchy.
But the ideals were progressive!
You know what? I'm gonna
jump back ashore,
Christopher Columbus.
Just for a little safety.
I'll be--
Whatever you're half British!
- Ouch!
- I'm just saying that
we all came out with a wider
lens, a bigger view of
how the world works.
With an American filter.
Ok. Here's an example,
who's Madeleine Albright?
-Come on.
-What are you--
What even is this game?
Just play along. Just
play along. Who is
Madeleine Albright?
Oh my god... Okay,
former US Secretary of State
under Clinton.
Okay, who was her counterpart
in China?
-Come on. You can do it.
-Why?
-Cat's got your tongue?
-What is your point?
Do you need to call someone?
Do you know? Oh my god!
Okay, fine!
I get your point!
I am a colonizer.
No, I'm not saying you're a
colonizer. What I'm saying is,
you know, that we are products
of a colonialist system
and we can't change that, but,
yes, we can and we should
make things better.
Okay, well, clearly not everyone
agrees. Just look at how many
people didn't vote in 2016.
Yeah... I didn't...
What? What?
I didn't-- I didn't vote.
-Seriously?
-What? I mean...
California is a blue state
anyway. You gotta
contextualize these things.
What?
I can't belie- You can't
talk about change and not vote.
That's insane!
My vote wouldn't have made
a difference! Literally would
not have made a difference.
Okay, I don't believe you've
become an isolationist that
stays in his own bubble!
Bubble? Who's in a bubble?
Okay, colonialist upbringing
or not, we bridged differences
with each other because
we believed in a better world.
You're losing sight of that.
Yeah. Yeah. You're probably
right.
Just don't get so caught
up in the rat race that
you disconnect completely.
Look, I don't know about you
but I feel like it's the world
that moved on from me.
Y'know, we're raised to get
a steady job, a 401K,
a white picket fence.
That reality doesn't
exist anymore.
Whatever,
just gotta move forward and
not look back.
Why do you hate
our past so much?
Maybe I just look for
reasons to not want to go back.
It's the wanting I hate.
Wanting the impossible.
Oh, I think I remember this!
This is Ricardo's birthday!
Yeah! The Italian kid with
the opera mom! God, that was
the most dramatic song ever.
Buon compleanno a te...
She had this smoky voice,
and this sexy Italian accent.
- No, no,
please, Carmella.
- Yeah. That's it! That's it!
- That's it!
- Mrs. Di Benedetto is
my mother.
Laela, why do you dress
like a boy?
You must show your tits!
- Your tits.
- This is a woman! No?
Oh. Oh, my god.
-Ah, look at that.
-Oh my god...
Look at your hair. You should
grow your hair back out.
Uh, I don't know. I think I'm
past that.
It's tragic
because you would've left me
for another woman and when
you see this you're
gonna be like,
Oh damn! That girl was fine!
what the fuck was I doing
leaving her?
Oh...
I cannot live.
I cannot live without this eye...
You really... zoom that camera
right in there?
And... I would definitely...
Belly button?
I don't remember this...
And these jeans,
I don't think
they're necessary,
maybe you should get rid
of these jeans.
- Maybe you should
get rid of these jeans!
Oh... I don't think we need to
watch this part...
No! Wait, it's beautiful.
I mean, that's not even
us anymore, right?
Uh... Yeah... yeah. Right.
Totally. It's not us...
- Uh, I totally forgot we got
busted.
God... I have never seen
this. That's... exactly
how I remember him.
Yeah. I'll never
forget that voice.
Ah...
Bonjour les enfants.
I know what you were doing.
I was young once too you know.
I know you don't think so
but I was. Why is the old guy
always bothering us, huh?
-C'est a?
-Maybe one day you find this
and you are the same age
I am now,
well, that is your punishment,
okay?
And maybe the old guy thinks,
uh, you should not get too old
too fast. Huh?
It's a journey.
Enjoy your youth.
You okay?
Yeah... Yeah. I'm okay.
You still smell the same.
Do I smell like a teenager?
No, no, I mean. I don't know...
I should, uh, get
you some water.
I'm so fucking hungry!
What am I going to do with you?
Feed me!
Hmm. Okay, I will take
you to my favorite, secret spot,
but you have
to promise not to tell anyone.
Well, I have this rule with taco
trucks, that if there's two
flaming bulls on the side,
it usually means "stay the
fuck away, gringo. "
Double toros, got it!
Hold on, I'm shifting.
Is this where you bring
all your dates or just
the ones you murder?
Uh, only the ones that ask for
Sriracha.
Ugh, it's a Bon apptit
ingredient of the
year! Trop authentic.
Well, then, we might as
well go for some boba
after
'cause nothing says pan-Asian
commodity like a bubble drink.
Ooh... Dem's fightin' words!
Here it is.
My, um,
little slice of heaven.
Holy shit.
It's not Jakarta or Bangkok,
but it feels like a place I
can just disappear to.
I'm afraid we're going to have
to try every single thing here.
Well, if Phi Ae is here, you
have no choice in the matter.
-Mmm. Smells good.
-One of each?
-Uh, two... for me. Yeah.
-Two for you? Okay, I see.
-How many are you going
to have?
-Um,
- well, I thought we were going to share but...
- -Hi Colin!
Hey Phi Ae! Uh, this is my
friend Laela.
Hi Phi Ae! Nice to meet you.
You so skinny! What's wrong?
You don't like food? Go sit
over there...
before she pass out!
That was both comforting and
triggering at the same time.
I know. She can be
intense.
Do you hear that?
Not a word of English.
Exactly.
Just don't puke in the cab.
They charge extra for that.
Oh my god... I'm gonna explode.
Colin! Here, take this with you!
-Hey, Phi Ae.
What is--What is this?
-Some dessert.
For Koji.
He's going to love this.
Don't forget to eat! You look
better when you fat!
Thanks, Phi Ae!
Come on. Car's here.
You don't think Phi Ae
would mind if I brought my dates
there, do you?
I mean just the hot ones.
She's down, right?
Yeah, yeah. Totally.
And, y'know, if the dates
suck then you could, uh,
dump the bodies with her.
She knows all the spots.
Must've taken you a
while to build up that trust.
Yeah, we've, uh, we've
been going there for a
couple of years
and she only started talking to
me last summer, so...
Well, that's when you know
it's time to get going.
Before your roots dig in
too deep and it gets harder--
Harder to leave. I remember.
I don't know if I agree with
that anymore though.
Big mistake, buddy.
Laela. Some of
us have to grow up.
At least I didn't give up.
Laela. You can't keep running
your whole life.
Yeah, well, you can't
keep denying who you
are either.
This is the life we're given,
the best thing we can do
is find others like us.
Is that why you got divorced?
-Yeah. Yeah...
-Shit. Sorry I didn't mean it.
I didn't mean it like that.
Actually it is best fucking
decision I made.
Does that make you feel better?
-Are you happy now knowing that
you...
-That's not...
avoided this?
You got out when you did,
you avoided this loneliness!
-Laela, that's--
-Well done, Mr. Lang!
Congratulations
on winning at life.
You think I've won at life?
You think my life is better
than traveling and making art?
I haven't been inspired
in years.
All the other shit
I can deal with, but you have no
idea what it's like
to live day in and day out
and be so uninspired.
And here you are,
you have it all!
Almost...
You want me to drop you off?
Is it alright if I say no?
Yeah, that's okay.
Eh... Why not?
To... Jakarta.
To Singapore.
To... Los Angeles.
To the emotional wreckage.
- Mhmm.
- Yup. Yup.
-Yup.
-You know you're alive when you
can't feel the burn.
Yeah. That's not a good thing.
Y'know. I was doing so
well until today, you know?
I hadn't even thought about
the past, I put it all behind me
and you gotta show up
riding a tsunami of memories.
I like me here. Y'know, I like.
I like me here.
And yet you're moving again.
Well, I'm not moving for me,
you know. I'm not moving
because I'm lonely.
No. You're moving for
someone else. Again.
Just like when your parents
moved you around.
Shows you haven't put anything
behind you.
Yep.
You know, we have lifetimes of
experience crammed into
eighteen years.
That's what makes us different.
That's why being together
is easy.
This... this is what's right.
Embrace it.
If only we had met up six years
ago all this could be us.
This is us.
May I?
Yeah, yeah. I want you to.
I want you to.
Sometimes, when I can't
think of how to start on a
piece,
I'll put my hands
on the clay and think of you.
Really?
Yeah. Remembering how your
skin feels. I imagine all
your lines and contours
It's not the same body anymore.
We'll find you.
That bad, huh?
I'll let you know.
Don't even want to look at me.
There's a mole here.
Uh huh.
This is the rib-- this one?
No, this is the rib you
cracked on the school fence.
-Yeah, that's good. That one.
-Great, this one?
That's a good memory.
I really needed that
pack of cigarettes apparently.
Are you alright? You're shaking.
Yeah, my skin feels alive.
This is my favorite line.
Ha, yeah. I bet you
tell that to all the boys.
No, I mean--I mean, not this
line. Other lines.
Uh huh.
Yeah? So what
makes it so special?
Mmm, because I know
what it feels like
to put my head on it.
Yeah? What does it feel like?
Home.
There he is.
Of all the times, you just had
to walk back into my life now.
Yeah, right now, when
it's finally just you and me.
This is new?
Uh...
A biking accident.
This. This doesn't feel...
I know...
Pileo-pepero-something.
Hey, how's it going?
I just need a sec.
Who wants coffee?
Your coffee and croissant,
Monsieur Colin!
Lae? Hey!
-Oh fuck...
-Hey, what's going on?
They packed your coffee.
What?
I went out to get coffee.
Hey, hey. I thought you said
we weren't going to do--
I--
What? What's go--
Hey, hey, hey.
I thought you fucking left
without saying goodbye.
I just went over to Reuben's to
drop my spare key off.
I thought I lost you again.
Lae...
-This is stupid. I feel stupid.
-You're not stupid.
You're not-- Look, I just went
over to Reuben's
to drop my key off.
My ride is here.
Hey... Where's my fucking
coffee?
Hey, you know, I...
I had this whole speech prepared
if I ever saw you again.
Yeah, the feelings,
they just compound and then
you don't know if that's how
you really ever felt or... feel.
Tell me.
That's the thing. Yep.
Now you're in front of me,
I can't remember
a damn word.
The feelings though, they...
they remain.
We don't have to go
just yet.
We can stay a little
longer. No one has to know.
Yeah. I didn't like the
way things ended last night.
At the same time it was the best
night in a long time.
Yeah. Kinda feel like it
was supposed to be like that.
All we can do
is embrace the present.
You know that scar on my side?
The bike accident?
Yeah. I got it on the
worst night of my life.
I was... blackout drunk.
I was going through a bunch
of unprocessed bullshit.
Never quite fitting in.
Never quite wanting to stay put.
Nothing new. We did our
fair share of drinking
back in the day too.
Yeah, we did, but...
that was just
for the sake of it.
This was about being numb.
I swerved my bike
into a parked car.
-Shit...
-It's so silly.
I remember thinking
the car was moving.
Colin... I wish I could've
been there for you.
That's the thing.
I ran into Sofia's car.
That's how we met.
And suddenly, the worst night of
my life turned into the best.
Yeah... I know...
It's fucked up.
-The teenager in me is
screaming on the inside.
-No, don't do that.
I'd give it all up to do it
over again. Do it differently.
Yeah. I get that, but...
that's why I have to go.
Because I wouldn't
change it for the world.
I just don't want it to end.
You'll always have
the best part of me.
Hm.
-Okay?
-Okay.
-Okay?
-Okay.
Yeah... Okay...
Okay.
Yeah. Um, is it cool if
I just chill here for a bit?
Yeah, yeah. Stay as long as you
need.
Better yet, make an offer.
That way I don't have to sell
to investors.
Maybe I will.
There's a box of memories over
there and a plant.
Consider it a housewarming gift.
Hey.
Sapa-takut.
Ciao, Laela.