Blue Bayou, film about Korean American adoptee

I’m posting here the NPR review of Blue Bayou, the story of a Korean American adoptee who faces deportation. Filmmaker Justin Chon, who is not himself adopted, has said he was inspired by the case of Adam Crapser, the Korean American adoptee who had run-ins with the law, lacked legal citizenship papers and was deported. I haven’t yet seen the film but hope to watch soon. And will we ever get back into movie theaters? Right now, I can’t imagine it. Sitting inside an enclosed space with other people, who may or may not be wearing masks. I’ll wait for Blue Bayou to arrive on cable, which we now have after decades of not having. The pandemic did that. Olivia’s at college and so far, so good. After a wonderful, eventful summer, I’m trying to get back to some kind of writing routine. Everyone is different and I’m a person who needs silence and routine, none of which I’ve had in a very long time. But Mateo is back at in-person school and I’m tackling a few home projects that have been hanging over me. I need to clear up head space for thinking. xoxo

“Breakthrough” movie

Olivia and I watched “Breakthrough,” the 2019 film about the boy in Missouri who was skating on thin ice with friends, fell through, was rescued, and spent many minutes unconscious—enough minutes that recovery seemed futile. Probably everyone in the world has seen this movie except us. Olivia suggested watching it because she knows I’ll watch any film with a Guatemalan angle, and in “Breakthrough,” the boy, John, was born in Guatemala and adopted by a couple in Missouri. I started crying about 10 minutes in, when, during a scene at John’s middle school, he was confronted with the dreaded “family tree” project. And I basically never stopped crying. The film is tense, fast-paced, and realistic. The performances are excellent. “Breakthrough” isn’t for everyone. John’s mother is deeply religious, the family is connected to a church community, and prayer and faith figure prominently. But if you’re okay with those elements, and you, like us, are behind in your movie-watching, check out “Breakthrough.” We loved it.