Retour à Séoul

Inspired by the life of Laure Badufle, the screen-writer, "Return To Seoul" takes us on a journey of regret, anger, sorrow and wondering what could have been. This film puts an exciting spin on the "adoptee wants to find their biological parents" genre with its depiction of all of the stages Freddie, the protagonist, goes through on her journey of reconciling with her biological parents and also finding her own identity. Davy Chou, the director, captures incredibly Freddie's stance on reuniting with her father, which shows that she is torn between wanting to meet him and being angry with him for giving her up in the first place - this ambivalence keeps the whole narrative thrilling in an otherwise slow pace/slow burn picture like this. What I must appreciate is the truly realistic approach to the legislative side of how adoptees can find their parents, that helps the film being believable. Also I completely admired the striking performance of Park Ji-min in the titular role and I couldn't believe that this was actually her first film ever.

What stands out the most about this film is its refusal to take the easy route. While viewers may think they can predict the direction after the first act, they are mistaken. The narrative defies predictability, mirroring the unpredictable nature of wounded souls and those who never feel truly at home.

The protagonist's actions may seem foolish, but what truly captivates is the striking humanity portrayed with raw realism, making it impossible to abandon the desire and hope for her to find solace within. I was left speechless when I found out that this is Ji-Min Park's debut role. A role that made me shed tears on more than one occasion and that is her merit in making us see so well that everything she is, is the result of her life's circumstances.

The experiende Oh Gwan-rok, in the role of the biological father, is also outstanding, but this is not just a film of performances. It boasts brilliant scenes, expertly paced storytelling, daring technical choices, and a secure, risk-taking direction, all complemented by a flawless soundtrack.

PS: The main theme of this and the one of "Decision to Leave" are two haunting melodies that linger in my mind, compelling me to delve deeper into the history of South Korean music.

Return to Seoul is an ambitious film, telling the story of a young woman named Freddie, who was born to Korean parents, but grew up in France. She - you guessed it - returns to Seoul, partly motivated to search for them, in her early to mid-20s. From there, the movie plays out sort of the way you'd expect for a while... until it makes some interesting narrative decisions, spanning far more time than I'd expected it would. As such, we get an insight into Freddie and the ways she changes throughout her 20s and into her early 30s.

Tonally, it's very different from The Worst Person in the World, but I got flashes of that film from this; maybe it scratched a similar itch. Each looks at a troubled & flawed, yet interesting, compelling, and sympathetic young protagonist, each spans quite a long period of time, each explores loneliness and the trials and tribulations of early adulthood in a very hard-hitting way, and each is quite visually striking. But like I said, they're tonally different, given Return to Seoul is more of a straightforward drama than a romantic-dramedy, and it gets darker and more in-depth with its exploration of loneliness (which hits extra hard, given what the world's been through since the start of the 2020s).

It's not always clear where the film is going, and some of the decisions it makes are quite jarring (though most work for the story and characters, once the shock wears off). The pacing is quite slow, but the compelling main character, the visually pleasing look of the film, and the amazing acting kept me engaged for almost all of its two-hour runtime. Park Ji-Min gives one of the best performances of 2022, and I was shocked to read this is her first ever movie. A performance like this that's so central makes or breaks this kind of character-focused film, and thankfully, she's up to the task and then some.

This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it a lot. While it was deliberately-paced, it never lost me, and I found some of the scenes quite moving. It's a very good movie; hopefully it won't go under too many people's radars, as Awards Season ramps up.

I think I may have warmed to this film better had I not taken an instant dislike to "Freddie" (Park Ji-min). Now it's certainly a testament to this actor that she is able to successfully - and pretty immediately - engender a sense that her character is a rather selfish, manipulative and unpleasant individual; but I'm afraid I struggled to remain engaged as her troubled story of adoption and of her re-introduction to her birth family is played out over the next two hours. "Freddie" appears to have been happily brought up by a couple in France, so her increasingly thoughtless behaviour doesn't really have an anchor - and as we progress and she becomes more obnoxious - as exemplified by her final scene in the car with poor old "Maxime" (Yoann Zimmer) - I found the story has just about run out of merit. The acting is generally good. The efforts from her slightly dipso dad (Oh Kwang-rok) is convincing as he has to reconcile the discovery of his long-lost daughter with his dependency on the bottle and her own pretty obvious disdain for the man. It also offers us quite an interesting insight into just how adoptions worked as the decline of the French colonial system in post-war Korea led to many children being offered by parents who hoped that a childhood and education in France would offer greater opportunity, but again with "Freddie" that isn't really developed. What has turned her into this rather objectionable person is rather left aside. It has an element of "be careful what you wish for" to it, and is, at times, an interesting observation on the stresses of the post-adoption processes but I just didn't like or care about her and so my enthusiasm just waned.

Return to Seoul is a captivating film that presents an intimate and complex portrayal of Freddie, although the larger context of her life is missing. However, the film's commitment to staying in the moment keeps the audience engaged. While the film does not have a strong emotional impact, it remains focused on Freddie's search for her identity and origins. Nevertheless, the movie lacks originality and does not distinguish itself from other films with similar themes. Despite this, Return to Seoul is still a well-made film that provides a compelling character portrait, albeit with some rambling sequences that do not add much to the story.