…how the gossiping girls stop talking right when Ellie and Aster make eye contact and how there aren’t even any subtitles for these few precious seconds.
Thepause in the dialogue takes away the possibility that Aster might just be amused with whatever inane things the girls are saying. It emphasizes that Aster’s smile was directed only at Ellie and not because of anything else.
And the pause in the subtitles prompts the viewers, especially those who might be too consumed reading them, to look up and really notice this little exchange.
This scene practically encourages the viewer to glance at the subtitles to catch whatever the gossiping girls are saying. But when the subtitles suddenly stop, instinct will prompt the viewer to look up and the first thing that’ll be noticed is Aster’s smile.
It’s almost as if this scene is attempting to put the viewer in Ellie’s shoes. One moment, they’re looking down (Ellie at the sink and the viewer at the subtitles), then the next moment they see is this ray of sunshine:
Nothing can convince me this wasn’t intended by Alice Wu.
Maybe I’m overthinking things, but it’s been said that Alice Wu is very particular about each shot and detail in her movies. So does anyone know what this shot is trying to portray?
We see Ellie’s arms are completely submerged so only her legs are visible. Aster’s is the opposite, kinda, since only one arm is visible.
I think it has something to do with the opening that says how humans originally had 4 arms and 4 legs, but were torn apart so they needed to find their other half.
In this shot’s case, though, only 3 limbs are visible. I would’ve thought both of Aster’s arms would be visible in this because then, they’re not fully “whole” as described in the myth, but what’s important is they’d complement each other by filling in for the other’s missing limbs.
So then, why does Aster have only one arm visible instead of two? Is it because she’s not ready to “complement” Ellie yet because she still needs “a couple years” to figure herself out?
I really wish we had the option to watch this with Alice Wu’s commentary like in Saving Face.
