12
Mar/10

THE EXPLODING GIRL

12
Mar/10
Ivy has trouble showing her true feelings in Bradley Rust Gray drama THE EXPLODING GIRL

Ivy has trouble showing her true feelings in Bradley Rust Gray drama THE EXPLODING GIRL

THE EXPLODING GIRL (Bradley Rust Gray, 2009)
Landmark Sunshine
143 East Houston St.
Opens Friday, March 12
212-330-8182
www.soandbrad.com/theexplodinggirl
www.landmarktheatres.com

In 1985, the Cure released a song called “Inbetween Days” that included the line “And I know I was wrong / when I said it was true / that it couldn’t be me and be her / inbetween without you.” On the flip side of the single, “The Exploding Boy,” Robert Smith sang, “I knew if I turned / I’d turn away from you / and I couldn’t look back.” In 2006, South Korean native So Yong Kim made IN BETWEEN DAYS, the tender story of Aimee (Jiseon Kim), a young Korean immigrant on the cusp of her burgeoning sexuality who spends most of her time with her best friend, Tran (Taegu Andy Kang), who is ready for more as well. Three years later, Bradley Rust Gray, Kim’s husband and cinematic partner, made what he calls the flip side to IN BETWEEN DAYS, the gentle, touching coming-of-age drama THE EXPLODING GIRL, with Kim serving as one of the film’s producers and editing it with her husband. In THE EXPLODING GIRL, Zoe Kazan stars as Ivy, a young woman who comes home from college break ready to spend time with her best friend, Al (Mark Rendall). While Ivy attempts to see her new boyfriend, Greg, her relationship with Al threatens to unravel as she is unwilling to face her real feelings. Both films are beautifully paced slices of life shot in a cinema verité style that adds to their believability and charm. THE EXPLODING GIRL opens March 12 at the Landmark Sunshine theater on the Lower East Side; we highly recommend checking it out, then renting IN BETWEEN DAYS for an outstanding double feature.