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A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

Yong Chavez

ABS-CBN News North America

<div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABhf-vbHe8Ife7r3"></script></div><p>There are movie titles that feel like a promise, and “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” wears its ambition on its sleeve.</p><p>Directed by the ever-poetic Kogonada (“Columbus,” “After Yang”), the film pairs two of the most compelling performers working today: Margot Robbie, fresh off the neon blaze of Barbie, and Colin Farrell, who seems to be in the middle of one of the most magnetic career chapters of his life. Together, they dive into a story about love, memory, and the doors we open — or don’t— along the way.</p><p>When I sat down with them, the conversation kept circling back to doors: literal ones, metaphorical ones, doors we barge through out of curiosity, and doors we stumble into years later, stunned by how much they still hold.</p><p>“I don’t know about the ones I didn’t open,” Farrell admits. “I’d have a bit too much curiosity, or slash nosiness, to be presented with a door and not… anywhere, like in a hospital, you see a door and just see if it’s a utility room. I always try to open doors.”</p><p>He tells me about recently returning to his childhood home in Dublin, decades after moving out. “Another family’s been living there 25 years. I just called up unannounced with my youngest son, and they let us in. Walking through that door was a shocking experience, but lovely as well.”</p><p>Robbie grins and chimes in with her own version of that pilgrimage: “I went back to the house my friends and I lived in London. Just like, ‘Hi, I used to live here, can we come in?’ And they let us. They were like, ‘Sorry, this place is a mess, we had a huge party last night.’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s perfect. It’s exactly how I remembered.’”</p><p>It’s an answer that sums up what makes Robbie so captivating on screen: a mix of fire and fragility, chaos and grace. When I ask if it’s riskier to show strength or vulnerability, she doesn’t hesitate. “Being vulnerable is far more scary, and I actually find it way harder. I also think doing comedy is much harder than crying. And I do think doing very little and being subtle is far more difficult than screaming and being melodramatic.”</p><p>Farrell nods, charmed by the question. “That’s lovely. In ‘Babylon’ as well, fire and fragility.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>A humane script, an unexpected musical</strong></div><p>Farrell has long been candid about his personal transformations, and he found a reflection of his own humanity in Kogonada’s script. “I’ve had my heart broken. I’ve told lies, told the truth. I’ve been embarrassed. I’ve experienced shame. All the human panoply of emotions that are on display in this film were there in the script. It didn’t shy away from the uncomfortable aspects of what it is to be human. There’s massive self-judgment in this, and we all fall afoul of that.”</p><p>But in the midst of this heaviness comes something surprising: a full-fledged musical sequence. Yes, Colin Farrell sings and dances. “It was so exciting to have him do that,” Kogonada beams. “He has a beautiful voice, and he knows how to dance. The choreographer was like, ‘Oh my God, he is so good.’ And then to see Margot join him — it was really delightful.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Kogonada’s anywhere-everywhere Los Angeles</strong></div><p>For all its emotional intimacy, the film is visually expansive, finding a world of possibility in overlooked corners of Los Angeles. “We were shooting in L.A., but not as Los Angeles,” Kogonada explains. “We wanted to create a kind of everywhere, nowhere. For every door, we wanted to find a landscape that would spark the imagination. It did become our own world.”</p><p>Known for meditative work — “Columbus” about stillness, “After Yang” about memory — Kogonada calls this film his exploration of play and love. “Sometimes you have to perform or play to get to the truth,” he says. “There’s a spirit of playfulness that can reveal deep emotion. And also, it’s about the possibility of love. We live in an age where there’s cynicism around love. I wanted to search for that possibility.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Margotn Robbie, post-Barbie</strong></div><p>Robbie’s turn here could not be further from her candy-coated romp as Barbie. Kogonada practically lights up when her name comes up. “She is singular to me. She is like a one of one. Obviously beautiful, obviously talented, but also has a work ethic she wouldn’t need to have. She works harder than anyone. I was so impressed with her not just as an actor, but as a person and producer. She really is one of a kind.”</p><p>And Robbie’s on-screen duality — the fire and fragility — struck him as essential to this story. “Early in the film, she’s so tough, and then at moments, she’s mush. It’s unpredictable. By the time she cries, you’re so taken by her.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Happiness, contentment, and everything in between</strong></div><p>The film builds to a quiet moment between mother and daughter, debating happiness versus contentment. For Kogonada, that’s the heart of it all. “That is the scene for me. You’ve gone through this whole journey, and by that last moment… it’s about family. Mother, daughter, father, son. And contentment is such a deep part of this film.”</p><p>Which feels right. Because “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” isn’t just about cinematic spectacle — it’s about the doors we walk through and the ones that still wait for us, quietly, until we’re ready to knock again.</p>

<p>Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell star in Kogonada’s visually stunning, emotionally rich film, navigating love, memory, and the doors we open — and those we leave closed.</p>

Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell star in Kogonada’s visually stunning, emotionally rich film, navigating love, memory, and the doors we open — and those we leave closed.

Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell take us inside ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’

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Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell take us inside ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’

Yong Chavez,

ABS-CBN News North America

Published Sep 19, 2025 05:38 PM PHT

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A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

Margot Robbie

Colin Farrell

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