‘zi’ Review: Kogonada’s Latest is a Return to Minimalism But Frustratingly Unfocused [C+] Sundance
Kogonada has expressed many times that one of the most important elements of any film for him is the sense of place. In every single one of his films, location plays such an immense role in telling a story. His creative choices in precise production design, along with his philosophical writing style, have always helped us decipher and understand what his characters are dealing with internally.
zi is a notable departure from all this. Reminiscent of films like Cléo from 5 to 7 and Lost in Translation, Kogonada’s latest film sees our titular character Zi (Michelle Mao) wandering through the streets of Hong Kong, haunted by visions of her future self meeting a stranger. This stranger turns out to be Elle (Kogonada regular Haley Lu Richardson), a former dancer who’s equally drawn to their peculiar relationship. As they begin to spend time together, even involving Elle’s ex-fiancé Min (Jin Ha), the film undergoes an introspective journey of memory and sense of belonging, all while traversing the past, present, and future.
With his last film being his biggest yet with A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, it’s good to see Kogonada return back to a low-budget minimalist approach, but the end result is less of a “return to form” and more of a “back to basics.” Arguably, Zi swings so hard the opposite way, falling into an experimental territory that’s sorely missing his writing sensibilities. Shot over the course of three weeks in a 4:3 aspect ratio, the film is often intimate and voyeuristic but way too loose dramatically. More often than not, the film feels largely improvised, where even regulars like Richardson have little to elevate when there isn’t much material to begin with – it also doesn’t help that Richardson is saddled with a distractingly bad outfit.
The skeletal outline can be somewhat found though. Kogonoda gives the film some sort of an impending deadline by writing in Zi waiting on a test result, which would reveal whether or not she has a brain tumor – a premise very much in line with Cléo from 5 to 7. It’s also clear that with the film focusing so much on the relationship between Zi and Elle that Kogonada is touching on elements from his first film Columbus, exploring concepts that he’s always been interested in, like intimacy and the concept of soulmates.
But the film is too shapeless because it’s unfocused, and it’s unfocused because there is no structure. When Elle’s ex-fiancé Min enters the picture, the script forces a connection by having Min work at the neurology center Zi will be visiting the next day, but it’s clear the second he’s revealed as the ex-fiancé that the film now has to dedicate time on Elle and Min’s relationship and why it was broken off so abruptly. With that comes an inevitable sidelining of Zi herself, as the film often finds itself in a bizarre, contemplative limbo that may work on vibes alone but struggles to find solid narrative ground.
This keeps zi at a frustrating distance, as it’s clear from Kogonada’s handheld camerawork, his instincts on what to look at in the streets of Hong Kong, and his music choices from the late Ryuichi Sakamoto that he still understands how to create that otherworldly effect of lonely strangers finding an intimate connection that they will remember forever. Shots of Zi, Elle, and Min doing karaoke together will bring memories of how Sofia Coppola found connection in Tokyo. But unlike his previous work, Kogonada has much less of a throughline here. The experimental, impromptu approach renders Zi, Elle, and Min as more abstractions than fully-realized people with their own struggles. One particular moment involving Zi and Elle was so beautiful that I wished the script leading up to it was better, to make it even more impactful. Even the ending, as head-scratching as it is, leaves a profound effect that only the dreamy assembly of image and music can. That it moved me at all is a testament to Kogonada’s talent as a visionary.
If only there was something that could keep zi grounded, in a way that makes his earlier films feel so special, like a personal memory. I still think about that moment in Columbus where John Cho asks Haley Lu Richardson why that particular building moves her. I still remember how inconsolable I was midway through After Yang, where I had to pause my screener so I could finish crying first. Kogonada has always been a filmmaker whose warmth has moved me immensely, where I feel less alone when engaging with his work. zi is a step in the right direction aesthetically, but it’s such a shame that when you reach out for something to hold onto, there’s mostly just air.
Grade: C+
This review is from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival where zi had its world premiere.
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