Made by director Andrew Ahn, I believe that this counts among the recent crop of films made by Asian American filmmakers. This one doesn’t lean into the Asian identity of its characters, which I suppose is another way of moving past the barrier. It is a very modest film about personal connections and I think as it was released online during the pandemic instead of in theatres, it resonated especially to people starved of ordinary social contact.

Kathy and her son Cody take a road trip and arrive late at night at an empty house. It turns out this house belonged to Kathy’s sister who has just recently died and she is there to clean out and put it on the market for sale. However she is shocked to discover that the house is messy and crammed full of possessions. She realizes that her sister was a hoarder and must have been suffering from some mental issues but she never knew anything about it. Meanwhile Cody has issues of his own with social anxiety and has difficulty socializing with other kids, preferring to spend time on solitary activities like reading and using his electronic pad. He befriends Del, an elderly war veteran who lives next door by himself, and the two soon become comfortable in each other’s company. As Kathy settles in with Cody in the entryway while she cleans out the rest of the house, she reexamines her relationship with her sister while Cody learns how to make friends with others.

This is a quiet, low-key film with very little going on. Perhaps even a little too low-key for me. The delight here lies in the sincere, realistic character interactions and the lack of any exaggerated drama. There are all kinds of small touches that show different facets of the characters, such as Kathy’s protectiveness towards Cody for example, or how Cody is reluctant to have anything to do with other children at all. As I noted earlier, they are Asian but at the same time it is not something that is especially remarked upon. A particularly nosy neighbor asks Kathy where she is from and is a little surprised when she says Michigan. It’s obvious that Kathy has dealt with questions like this before and has learned to deliberately reply in a way to shut down any implication that she is anything less than fully American. This is just one of the many ways that the film is full of rich yet subtle characterizations, which makes it such a pleasure to watch beyond the bare simplicity of what actually goes on.

As well made as it is, this isn’t something that speaks to me particularly. It’s endearing to have Cody be more comfortable about being in the company of Del and his fellow veterans than excitable and perhaps hard to understand kids nearer his own age, but it’s not an equal relationship. Well it’s certainly better for Del to have some company, it’s not like Cody can really understand Del when he reminiscences about his life and his regrets. In the end, he’s still just a kid and the best he can do is try to pay attention. But I suppose that’s all right as this is a film about the small moments and small revelations that fill our lives. Note that Brian Dennehy who plays Del here is a veteran actor of stage and screen and he passed away a month before the release of this film, making this one of final appearances.