00:00This is the story of 35-year-old Jesse Fisher, who has a good job in New York.
00:04Most of his time is spent reading books.
00:06Even when he goes out, he always has a book in his hand.
00:09While reading, he becomes so unaware of the outside world,
00:12that one day a thief runs away with his belongings right in front of his eyes.
00:16Maybe because of this habit, his girlfriend broke up with him.
00:18A girl working at the library where he used to borrow books always kept looking at him,
00:22and one day she even complimented his new shirt.
00:25But Jesse never had time for anything outside his world of books.
00:28He gets a call from one of his old friends, Peter Obach, who was his favorite teacher during college.
00:33Peter tells Jesse that he's retiring next week, and if Jesse has time, he should come to the retirement ceremony.
00:38Hearing this, a smile appears on Jesse's face, and the following week, he takes a long car ride from New York to Ohio.
00:44After reaching there, the first thing he does is visit his college campus where he graduated.
00:48He's so happy that he lies on the grass in the campus park for a while, dancing with joy.
00:53After that, he goes to Professor Peter's house, where the professor's friend and his wife have also arrived.
00:57Peter hugs Jesse as soon as he sees him, and then takes everyone to a restaurant for lunch.
01:02On the way, Peter's friend also picks up his daughter Zibby from the hostel, who is a student at the same college.
01:08During lunch at the restaurant, Jesse, who usually stays lost in books and doesn't talk much, shows a different side of himself.
01:14It's as if he's still a 19-year-old college student.
01:16He makes everyone laugh by telling stories from his and the professor's college days.
01:20The professor also shares a story about Jesse.
01:23He says that on the last day of graduation, Jesse started crying because he didn't want to leave the college.
01:28Just like Jesse, Zibby is also a very interesting girl who talks a lot, and she tells them about her drama class.
01:34While leaving the restaurant, Peter talks to Jesse a bit more about his class, after which Zibby heads back toward the campus.
01:40That night, during his retirement speech, Professor Peter became very emotional and couldn't say much.
01:46Later, he thanks Jesse for coming and leaves, saying he wants to be alone for a while.
01:50After walking around for some time, Jesse goes back to the college campus park, where he meets a funny guy named Nate, who starts talking to him like an old friend from the very first moment.
02:00Nate takes him to a cafe, where Zibby shows up and comes to Jesse when she sees him.
02:04She introduces her friend to Jesse and tells her that he graduated from this college.
02:08Jesse's friend asks what year he graduated, and Jesse says it was in the 90s.
02:12Hearing this, Zibby's friend laughs and says they must have been kids back then.
02:16Jesse feels awkward and says yes, he's an old man.
02:19But Zibby quickly handles the situation and says he doesn't look old.
02:22Then she removes his tie and says, now he looks like a 19-year-old young man.
02:27After that, she asks Jesse to sit with her for a while, but he refuses and tries to leave.
02:31In between, Nate suggests that the two of them go for coffee tomorrow.
02:35Jesse tries to say no again, but Nate nudges him in the stomach and makes him agree.
02:39A guy comes and calls Zibby, and she starts to leave with him.
02:42But before going, she asks Jesse to meet her tomorrow at 11.30, and leaves with the guy.
02:47Nate then tells Jesse that the girl likes him.
02:49But Jesse quickly escapes from this strange guy, and leaves the place.
02:53The next day, he goes to meet Zibby at a coffee shop.
02:55There he sees a boy sitting with his eyes closed and a thick book beside him.
02:59As Jesse tries to talk to him, the boy doesn't respond properly at first.
03:03But later, he apologizes for his behavior and tells Jesse his name is Dean.
03:07Then Zibby arrives, and after Dean leaves, she tells Jesse that the boy had a mental breakdown
03:11last year, but now he's started attending college again.
03:14After that, Jesse and Zibby walk around the campus, talking about many interesting topics
03:19like music, literature, art, and philosophy.
03:22Jesse is very impressed by her conversations, because he used to love these things during
03:26his college days too.
03:27Suddenly, he asks her who the boy in the cafe was, if he's her boyfriend.
03:31Zibby says there's nothing like that between them yet.
03:34Then she hugs him, and both of them walk away, still talking.
03:37Later, as Jesse starts preparing to go back, Zibby calls the professor's phone, saying she
03:42wants to talk to Jesse.
03:43When Jesse picks up, she says she wants to meet him once before he leaves.
03:46When he reaches the bookstore, Zibby gives him a CD of her music class.
03:50She tells him that she has written her phone number on the cover of the CD, but she wants
03:53him to keep writing letters to her, so they can continue their conversations like this.
03:57Saying that, she leaves.
03:59Now Jesse also starts heading back to New York, but on the way, he sees Dean in front
04:03of the college campus and offers him a ride.
04:05During the ride, Jesse says that if Dean doesn't mind, he'd like to know more about him.
04:09Dean tells him that his mother is a nurse, and wants her son to study and make her proud.
04:13But, he can't handle the pressure of semester exams and projects because he's not interested
04:17in them.
04:18He only likes reading books, and is also trying to write his own novel.
04:21After a while, Dean gets out of the car and walks quickly toward his room.
04:25Jesse feels sympathy for him, but there's nothing he can really do.
04:28After this, Jesse reaches New York, and a big change begins in his life.
04:32He starts writing letters to Zibby, where he talks about music and philosophy.
04:35Now, whenever he is out on the streets, instead of a book in his hand, he has earphones in
04:40his ears.
04:41While listening to the music Zibby gave him, a smile appeared on his face.
04:45The New York City he once called a concrete jungle, now feels different to him.
04:49He starts seeing beauty all around.
04:51He smiles at everything he finds beautiful, and now he feels like people around him smile
04:55back at him and keep moving forward.
04:57He shares all of this with Zibby through his letters.
05:00Zibby also replies to every letter, and their exchange continues like this.
05:04One day, she writes that she's missing him a lot, and feels like she started to fall in
05:08love with him.
05:09She also invites him to come see her.
05:11After reading the letter, Jesse can't believe his eyes.
05:14He liked her a lot too, but he never thought things would go this far.
05:17Now he sits down with a pen and paper to think it over, and realizes there is a 16 year age
05:22difference between them, because he's 35, and Zibby is 19.
05:26That seems okay for now, but when Zibby turns 35, he'll be over 50.
05:30Thinking this, he closes his eyes and holds his head.
05:33But to calm himself, he does another calculation.
05:36When he'll be 87, Zibby will also be over 70.
05:39This calculation feels better to him, and now he decides to go meet her.
05:43When Zibby sees him, her face lights up and she hugs him tightly.
05:47Then she takes him to her room and signals her roommate to step out.
05:50But Jesse starts feeling uneasy about being in her room like this.
05:53He even tells Zibby that he's not comfortable, because he's many years older than her.
05:57Zibby says, if they like each other, then what difference does age make?
06:01Saying this, she starts kissing him.
06:03But just then, her roommate comes back to grab some of her stuff.
06:06After picking it up, her roommate quickly leaves again.
06:09But Jesse says he's really hungry, and suggests they go out and eat.
06:12After a while, Zibby has a class.
06:14So she takes Jesse with her to the college canteen.
06:17There, Jesse sees the same boy named Dean, still sitting with that same thick book.
06:21When Jesse tries to ask how he's doing, he realizes that Dean still hasn't come out of
06:25his depression.
06:26Jesse writes his number in Dean's book, and tells him that if he ever wants to talk,
06:29he'd be happy to.
06:31After this, while Jesse is sitting with Zibby, Professor Peter sees them.
06:34But instead of saying anything, he avoids looking at them and walks out.
06:38Seeing this, Jesse leaves Zibby there and runs after the professor.
06:41When Peter sees Jesse, he angrily asks what he's doing.
06:44Jesse replies that he doesn't know.
06:46But the professor understands the situation.
06:48He doesn't say anything directly, but gives his own example.
06:51He says that no man in the world wants to admit that he's getting older.
06:55But that doesn't mean he's still 19 years old.
06:57Jesse listens carefully to his words.
07:00That night, while walking through the college park, he gets lost in his thoughts.
07:04Then Nate shows up again.
07:05Just by looking at Jesse, he understands that Jesse has come for the same girl.
07:09Nate starts sharing his own kind of philosophy again.
07:11He says, whatever is happening in life, just let it happen.
07:15There's no point in getting confused.
07:16Go and make that girl yours.
07:18Nate's words help Jesse overcome his fear.
07:20With a smile on his face, he goes to Zibby's room.
07:23Zibby clearly tells him what she wants.
07:25She has sent her friend to sleep somewhere else.
07:27And tonight, only the two of them will be there.
07:30Jesse agrees to stay.
07:31But then Zibby opens up even more and tells him that it's her first time.
07:34Now Jesse gets confused.
07:36He realizes that Zibby isn't a one-night stand kind of girl.
07:39She's very serious about this relationship.
07:41So, he asks her for some time and steps away into a corner of the room.
07:45Then he splashes water on his face, comes back, and tells Zibby that this isn't right.
07:49Because he's 35 years old, and Zibby is 19.
07:52This relationship doesn't have a good future.
07:54Zibby says that age doesn't matter to her.
07:57That all of this is just nonsense.
07:59She says maybe because of his age, he feels like he's doing something wrong.
08:02But Jesse says that if you realize something is wrong before doing it,
08:06then it's not a crime.
08:07It's called morality.
08:08Zibby takes a deep breath and asks him,
08:10Then why did he even come here?
08:12Jesse replies that he came just to meet her.
08:14Because he likes her.
08:15But he also cares for her.
08:16And that's why he can't just agree to everything she says.
08:19Hearing this, Zibby starts crying and,
08:21in anger, asks Jesse to leave her room.
08:24Jesse had been expecting this.
08:26He quietly gets up and leaves.
08:28Now he heads back to New York.
08:29After many months, he writes a letter to Zibby and apologizes for hurting her.
08:33But he says that whatever happened was for the best.
08:35He says that Zibby helped him start living according to his age.
08:38One day, he finally talks to the same girl from the library who had once praised his shirt.
08:43Her name is Anna, and she also loves to read books.
08:46Anna used to love reading books just like him.
08:48But she says that now she has stopped getting lost in books all the time.
08:51Because while reading about life, sometimes we forget to actually live it.
08:55Jesse really likes what she says.
08:57And he gestures to ask if she has a boyfriend or husband.
09:00Then he asks her out.
09:01And Anna happily agrees.
09:03Because she had secretly been waiting for this moment for a long time.
09:06After this, the two of them started spending a lot of time together and talk about many things.
09:11That night, when Jesse returns home happily, he suddenly gets a phone call.
09:14It's from the same boy, Dean, the one Jesse had once written his number for in a book.
09:19Dean is crying and tells him that he has taken a lot of sleeping pills.
09:22Hearing this, Jesse asks Dean to stay there while he calls an ambulance and takes a flight to the hospital.
09:27When Dean regains consciousness, he thanks Jesse for everything and asks him why he came from so far just for him.
09:33Even though they had only met twice, Jesse says that good books are rare, and so are good people who read them.
09:39He tells Dean that readers hold a special place in his heart because it's hard to find people like that these days.
09:44After this, Jesse gives him some more advice, and then goes to meet Zibi in her room.
09:49Zibi is very happy to see him and says that what Jesse did that day was absolutely right.
09:53She tells him that life has its own process that everyone must follow, whether they like it or not.
09:57But she was trying to take a shortcut by starting a relationship with him, which was wrong.
10:02Saying this, a few tears fall from her eyes.
10:04Now Jesse tells her that writing letters to her was one of the best experiences of his life,
10:09and he wants them to keep writing letters to each other in the future too.
10:12After this, he says goodbye to Zibi and returns to New York, and their letter writing continues once again.
10:17He also tells Zibi about Anna, with whom his relationship has now grown much deeper.
10:22At the end of the movie, Jesse and Anna are shown sitting together, happily talking about their future old age.
10:27Anna says that they'll have a small house by the lake, where they can sit peacefully and talk for hours,
10:32and how beautiful it will be to grow old together like that.
10:35Jesse smiles, takes a deep breath, and with that, the movie ends.
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