Dear My Life

  Header illustration for the review essay of Toscana (2022) . Illustration created for editorial review purposes. 💭 Short Personal Reflection Toscana (2022), Mehdi Avaz's Netflix Danish romantic drama set in the Tuscan countryside, found me thinking about something I have noticed in my own life. Sometimes, when I am deeply focused on solving a problem, I reach a point where nothing works — and then, almost by accident, someone passing by says a single word, and the answer appears, embarrassingly simple. Why was I holding onto it so tightly? It happens with the smallest things, too. When I cannot find something, I ask someone else to look instead. Because when we become too absorbed, we begin to overlook what is right in front of us. Perhaps life — and even cooking — is the same. In Toscana , the act of cooking is not about control or precision alone, but about knowing when to step back. When to let things breathe. When to allow something else to enter. Because sometimes, it is...

  Header illustration for the review essay of Happy Together (1997) . Illustration created for editorial review purposes. 💭 Short Personal Reflection Happy Together (1997), Wong Kar-wai's Cannes Best Director–winning Hong Kong romantic drama, found me at a moment when I was still learning the difference between holding on and holding tight. Sometimes, things only become clear when we finally learn to let them go. When we grip too hard, everything blurs — but the moment we loosen our hold, what truly matters begins to come into focus. I've come to believe that even between the people we love most, there are lines that shouldn't be crossed — not out of coldness, but out of care. For a long time, I leaned on others, and I think that made me grow up a little later than I should have. There is a particular kind of discomfort in being forced, finally, to stand on your own. But somewhere in that darkness, something shifts. And it is only after passing through it that we begin ...

Header illustration for the review essay of The Little Prince (2015) . Illustration created for editorial review purposes. 💭 Short Personal Reflection The Little Prince (2015), Mark Osborne's animated adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's classic, found me at a quiet hour, and it left me in a different kind of quiet altogether. Sometimes, it is only after time has passed that we begin to see what truly mattered — and this film knows that, deeply. As we grow and our lives become busier, we slowly lose sight of what was once essential. We live in constant motion, like working on a laptop inside a speeding train, too preoccupied to notice the breathtaking scenery passing by the window. And yet, if we could recognize the value of every moment as it happens, we wouldn't quite be human. Perhaps that imperfection is part of the beauty. So we move forward, inevitably missing pieces of life along the way. And still, even when it feels too late, I want to believe that it isn...

  Header illustration for the review essay of The Life List (2025) . Illustration created for editorial review purposes. 💭 Short Personal Reflection The Life List (2025) found me at exactly the right moment. A few years ago, after a routine health checkup led to further testing, I sat in a hospital waiting room and felt a fear I hadn't expected — not for myself, but for my daughters. The thought of them being left behind without me overwhelmed everything else. Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing serious. But that day left something behind: a quiet realization of what truly matters most. Watching this film, I finally understood the mother who left her daughter a life list to complete. Perhaps she knew something I was only beginning to learn — that a life built around someone else's definition of success is far less meaningful than one shaped by the small, honest dreams we once held as children. As a Netflix romantic drama about grief, rediscovery, and the courage to choo...

  Header illustration for the review essay of The Half of It (2020) . Illustration created for editorial review purposes. 💭 Short Personal Reflection The Half of It (2020) opens with a question that has stayed with me ever since: what if we've been telling the wrong love story all along? The film begins with Plato's Symposium — the idea that humans were once whole, split apart by the gods, and have spent their lives searching for the missing half. It is a beautiful myth. But watching Ellie Chu move through her quiet, self-sufficient world, I found myself wondering whether the real story of love is not about finding someone to complete us, but about learning to recognize ourselves more fully. Living life, I have come to believe that the hardest thing is not loving another person — it is learning how to inhabit oneself. This film understands that, and it holds that understanding with extraordinary gentleness. As a Netflix coming-of-age film, The Half of It explores identity...