It has only been a couple days ago since the fire alarm in my home went off. I was at work while a friend was doing some work in my home. As I would later learn, a tool he was using somehow triggered the alarm.
Scared the crap out of me.
It would take only minutes for me to learn that my security company ended up calling my alarm's back-up person, a friend with whom I'd not had contact in quite awhile and a friend whom I'd completely forgotten had that role in my life that had, quite obviously, not been relevant until now.
It would be a few minutes, however, she would end up texting me in response to let me know they'd left her a voice mail and that she was out of town. I was honestly touched that she'd responded considering there'd been an undeniable tension in our last time together that ultimately led to a healthy choice to part ways.
Sometimes, I suppose, friendships run their course. I never expected that with this one, but I couldn't deny being part of the problem.
Then, I decided to somewhat step into the vulnerability by acknowledging how good it was to hear from her. After a few moments, she reached out with a sort of olive branch offering to get together for coffee.
We're moving, I hope, gingerly back toward restoring a friendship that had at one point been central for both of us.
I thought about this friend a lot while watching writer/director Lina Suh's engaging Meeting You, Meeting Me. The film centers around two people - the free-spirited Sav (Annika Foster) and the more deliberative and intentional Simone (Sam Yim). The two meet over a backpack, trust me the film explains it, and it's the kind of incidental meeting that leaves you both in awe and deeply appreciative.
I mean, have you ever had that occasion where you met a really cool friend at the most unexpected time and place?
That's kind of what unfolds here.
It seems weird to call Meeting You, Meeting Me an adult drama, though I somewhat fear if I don't say it that you'll go into it expecting a bunch of distractions. Other than an unexpected pizza delivery dude encounter that adds a little bit of a twist to everything else that unfolds. Meeting You, Meeting Me is a thoughtful and insightful film with dialogue that feels natural and unforced and a pacing that feels just a little bit awkward and authentic in mostly the right ways.
Both young women come into this story with their own baggage, if you will.
Sav is your typical breezy, energetic California girl. She possesses a sort of entitled air of confidence that has been punctured as of late, an ill-conceived social media post leading to her being canceled being the latest ripple in an otherwise smooth ocean.
Simone is slightly older than Sav, a fairly new divorce lawyer who's also divorced herself and adjusting to life in a myriad of ways. Simone is the daughter of Korean immigrants, a more reserved woman in nearly every way.
There are other dynamics at play, however, to fully explain the film's narrative would lessen one's appreciation for Suh's intuitive and well-informed storytelling. Suh trusts her audience enough to not explain everything away and the film is best appreciated in this way. Timeframes will become obvious as will each woman's journey past and present.
Taking place almost entirely in one setting, Meeting You, Meeting Me manages to maintain feeling fresh and honest. While there's a bit of a "stage" feeling here, it enhances the dialogue-heavy script and the natural chemistry between these two individuals.
Both Foster and Yim are charismatic and compelling. When they talk, you listen and when they're engaging with one another it's easy to surrender to it. Be aware that Meeting You, Meeting Me is not a rom or a com or a rom-com. It's a relaxed, honest yet ultimately dramatic film about friendship and the complexities of human connection. It's the kind of film that one hopes will have a successful festival run followed by a deserved distribution with some gifted boutique distributor who will know how to get it to the masses.
A recent selection at CAAMFest (formerly the San Francisco International Asian-American Film Festival), Meeting You, Meeting Me is ideal for those who appreciate smaller indie films with intelligent storytelling and characters who matter. Watch for it on the indie fest circuit.
Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic
