Okay, having had three Korean roommates in the past year I have acquired a bit of a taste for Korean films. This film in particular became of interest to me because of the fact they cast a 78 year old woman with no acting background, who has never even seen a film before this as a deaf mute. Which she played convincingly.
The first thing to be warned about in this movie is that it is action-reaction driven, as in most of the time there will be little or no words but the movie still manages to move along without them. The old grandmother (Eul-boon Kim) is old. Yet most of her actions relate to a child trying to please her parents. She knows a lot, but at the same time is horrifically under-educated. Things that would be too childish for let's say a ten year old may in fact be leaps and bound beyond what she can tangibly do. Her character couldn't even figure out what hole the square goes in while playing with the classic toddlers toy. Yet, she gets by. The portrayal of an old woman who lives in her own means supporting herself using what she knows is inspiring.
Of course the journey of an old woman would be horrifically dull without any real conflict. So the second thing I warn you about this movie is that it is harsh but realistically and spookily accurate. While watching this movie, I was flinching in horror at the treatment Sang-woo (Seung-ho Yu) gave to his disabled grandmother. Early on though in the film they established that he himself was raised poorly by his own mother. Being spoiled and yelled at, it was obvious she had almost given up in attempting any real discipline. Thus, it all trickles down. He controls her, by manipulating her into pleasing him in any way she can. It was aggravating how he treated her...in fact I wanted to get up and smack that little brat as much as I am against child-abuse. The good thing though is the movie didn't lie in any way. Having worked with children in the past I related to the grandmother, you do what you can, sometimes you can't discipline them, they aren't your responsibility, but if you can get them to at least respect you---now that is an accomplishment. The old woman earned his respect from the beginning, but never really received it, only time after time again did she finally obtain recognition. Her path is almost biblical in that she chose her battles, and knew she couldn't fight back but still ultimately won the battle.
The third problem though is that it seems to end to easily, thus a lower score than I would have liked. It seems in almost an effort to wrap it all up, the main character has a turn-around in the last twenty minutes to really caring. I am glad, that it ended happily, but I was expecting more of a realistic gradual approach especially with the slow build up to that point. This is really my only problem with the film. I can't disagree with the methods and I think this movie would invoke anyone to really look into how they might be treating the people around them. For that reason alone it comes highly recommended.
This movie is not recommended to anyone who doesn't like to think much when it comes to films. Of course, maybe that's the reason you should watch it.
The first thing to be warned about in this movie is that it is action-reaction driven, as in most of the time there will be little or no words but the movie still manages to move along without them. The old grandmother (Eul-boon Kim) is old. Yet most of her actions relate to a child trying to please her parents. She knows a lot, but at the same time is horrifically under-educated. Things that would be too childish for let's say a ten year old may in fact be leaps and bound beyond what she can tangibly do. Her character couldn't even figure out what hole the square goes in while playing with the classic toddlers toy. Yet, she gets by. The portrayal of an old woman who lives in her own means supporting herself using what she knows is inspiring.
Of course the journey of an old woman would be horrifically dull without any real conflict. So the second thing I warn you about this movie is that it is harsh but realistically and spookily accurate. While watching this movie, I was flinching in horror at the treatment Sang-woo (Seung-ho Yu) gave to his disabled grandmother. Early on though in the film they established that he himself was raised poorly by his own mother. Being spoiled and yelled at, it was obvious she had almost given up in attempting any real discipline. Thus, it all trickles down. He controls her, by manipulating her into pleasing him in any way she can. It was aggravating how he treated her...in fact I wanted to get up and smack that little brat as much as I am against child-abuse. The good thing though is the movie didn't lie in any way. Having worked with children in the past I related to the grandmother, you do what you can, sometimes you can't discipline them, they aren't your responsibility, but if you can get them to at least respect you---now that is an accomplishment. The old woman earned his respect from the beginning, but never really received it, only time after time again did she finally obtain recognition. Her path is almost biblical in that she chose her battles, and knew she couldn't fight back but still ultimately won the battle.
The third problem though is that it seems to end to easily, thus a lower score than I would have liked. It seems in almost an effort to wrap it all up, the main character has a turn-around in the last twenty minutes to really caring. I am glad, that it ended happily, but I was expecting more of a realistic gradual approach especially with the slow build up to that point. This is really my only problem with the film. I can't disagree with the methods and I think this movie would invoke anyone to really look into how they might be treating the people around them. For that reason alone it comes highly recommended.
This movie is not recommended to anyone who doesn't like to think much when it comes to films. Of course, maybe that's the reason you should watch it.