South Korean-born filmmaker Kogonada, known for his meditative style, returned to Sundance 2026 with Zi. After the critical stumble of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, the director sought a creative reset. This new project, shot on a shoestring budget with close collaborators, aimed to strip away excess and rediscover intimacy.
A Story Born in Hong Kong
The film was conceived when Kogonada invited actors Michelle Mao, Haley Lu Richardson, and Jin Ha, along with cinematographer Benjamin Loeb and producers Chung An and Christopher Radcliff, to Hong Kong. With only a loose outline, they filmed over three weeks, crafting Zi as an improvised exploration of mood and character.
The Characters at the Center
Mao plays Zi, a young violinist awaiting troubling medical results. Her wandering through the city reflects her alienation and grief, particularly as she visits her parents’ graves. She encounters Elle (Richardson), an American who appears both in reality and in Zi’s haunting visions. Together, they drift through Hong Kong’s streets, joined later by Min (Ha), a neurologist with a complicated past.
A Film of Wandering and Vision
The trio’s night unfolds with fireworks, karaoke, and quiet exchanges. Loeb’s handheld cinematography evokes the Dardenne brothers, emphasizing intimacy and spontaneity. Yet the film’s rhythm often falters, becoming repetitive and unfocused. Zi’s visions of an older woman embracing her add mystery but fail to anchor the narrative.
Too Light to Resonate
While Kogonada’s hallmark gentleness and warmth remain, Zi struggles to build emotional depth. The film drifts on melancholy without fully engaging the audience. Comparisons to Bing Liu’s Preparation for the Next Life highlight its shortcomings, as Zi lacks the organic poetry that makes mood-driven cinema resonate.
A Hope for Stronger Work Ahead
Despite its flaws, Zi reflects Kogonada’s desire to experiment and reset. His earlier films, Columbus and After Yang, showcased his ability to connect inner lives with physical spaces. Zi hints at a return to that approach, though it feels incomplete. Audiences and critics alike hope this marks a step toward more substantial storytelling in his future projects.
