Youngna Park’s Sweet 16
Sweet 16 is our rapid-fire Q&A series.
Youngna Park is a Brooklyn-based product advisor, speaker, and writer who works at the intersection of technology, education, media and the arts. She also writes the kids and parenting newsletter Making it Work.
Youngna took time to answer our 16 questions about the movies and movie experiences that have made her life sweeter.
1. First movie you fell in love with
I rented Adventures in Babysitting with Elizabeth Shue for 10 turns in a row at Blockbuster in the third and fourth grade, much to my brothers’ chagrin. (We had to take turns who got to pick out the movie every week and I just kept renting the same thing.)
2. Last movie you fell in love with
Perfect Days. My favorite movie of the last many years. I love the idea of finding contentedness in your station, and the way that’s conveyed through mundane details, daily rhythms and the simplicity of everyday joy in this movie is perfect.
3. A movie scene you’ll never shake
I think it’s pretty minor, but the scene in Minari where they go down to the water and the grandma, Soonja, shows the little boy David that there’s a plant (water parsley) growing there, which is the “minari” of the title. My family is Korean and as a kid my dad was constantly identifying plants (including minari) out in the wild, talking about how they could be used for food, medicine, tea, etc, so it’s a sweet moment that reminds me of my family.
4. A movie scene that never gets old
The scene in Lady Bird where Saoirse Ronan’s character is arguing with her mom and then she just jumps out of the car. So perfect/funny.
5. Favorite movie theater
My home movie theater is the Prospect Park Nitehawk, which I love for its intimate size, food and drink, and great previews.
6. Theater snack of choice
Popcorn with a little butter and a Diet Coke (or an IPA) if time and theater allows. I really only ever drink soda while at the movies.
7. A performance that makes you LOL
Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy. After Barbie came out, I went and did a full Ryan Gosling retrospective and he is really one of the most versatile actors. I watched this movie a few times, and him and Emily Blunt just have such a great rapport and it really makes me laugh.
8. A performance that makes you cry
Paul Mescal in Aftersun, where he plays the single dad of a young girl on a trip, really struggling with his mental health but holding it together for her. The part at the end, where the daughter is grown up... brutal.
9. Favorite childhood movie memory
We have close family friends that we used to see on major holidays—usually Christmas, then once in the summer. For some reason, every time we hung out, we all went to the basement/den and watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. There were 10 kids down there; I must have watched that movie over 30 times and even though a lot of it is so racist/misogynistic, it still hits.
10. Movie you saw way too young
Misery. Or Psycho. Both were movies my older brother was watching and I would have been spared years of nightmares had I not decided to sit in with him.
11. Rainy day movie
Any James Bond with Daniel Craig. We recently watched Skyfall with the kids and the misty Scottish landscape is perfect rainy day energy.
12. Lesson you learned from a movie
I don’t think it’s from one particular movie, but I think there are quite a few movies about believing in the power of your imagination that I think send a hopeful message about creativity. I’m thinking about My Neighbor Totoro, Amélie, movies where a bit of belief in magic goes a long way.
13. A movie quote you use a lot
I’m not really a quoter, but we did just see Project Hail Mary a few weeks ago and now everyone in the house is just saying “Amaze Amaze Amaze” all the time.
14. Movie shot that stuns you:
The hallway shots on Maggie Cheung in Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love, like this:
15. Movie you’ll defend forevermore
Call Me By Your Name, because even though Armie Hammer turned out to be a pretty unsavory guy in real life, that movie is so beautiful.
16. Movie you want played at your funeral
Perfect Days