lilianaoana

At first I thought this movie was whatever, I mean watchable and enjoyable and kind of touching here and there but not as great as people make it out to be but the latter half really changed my mind with where it went. Lots of family drama and female generational trauma and all these women making very bad choices about men, which makes perfect sense cause we rarely learn from our moms' mistakes. But it is very upsetting and frustrating watching women sabotage themselves like that.

Also not a fan of airing your dirty laundry in public like that and I have never seen it in reality on this scale so it's such a movie thing to do it this way.

What can I say I'm always a sucker for a family drama, especially a female-oriented one and add some patriarchy into the mix and I'm throwing hands at the injustice of the world.

The propaganda, the indoctrination, the ceremonies, the elaborate choreographies, the impassioned speeches, the portraits hanging everywhere. I am all too familiar with these things, from my own memory and that of my parents, but North Korea takes it up a notch. Of course the North Korean model was the one embraced by our own dictator so that's why it was pretty much the same. Only these guys really perfected it to such a degree that young children are fed the story constantly. It's bound to mess with their heads. Zin-Mi cracks under the pressure. You can see the boredom and frustration on their faces here and there while having to rephrase the same celebratory sentences at nauseam. How many ways can you say that the Generalissimo hated landowners and the Japanese because they hurt the people and he kicked them out of the country? That appears to be a reading comprehension lesson at school. Those poor teachers. Even dance lessons have to feature a speech praising the leader. The Kims seem to have taken an interest and facilitated every single aspect of Korean life if you take them at their word. No wonder they are gods there. The level of indoctrination and control is so absolute that I don't think this people has a chance of liberating itself from the prison of their own minds. It looks positively hopeless.

Don't get married, don't have kids. Every man will disappoint your, your children will be a burden. The movie. Very successful movie at that. By that measure it's a really good movie. If ever you need to be reminded of these things, watch this movie.

It's a tough watch, not a pleasant movie at all, made even more unpleasant by the fact that all characters are unlikable to various degrees, of course some more than others. The shock also comes when you realize our female lead is actually a therapist herself, treating patients with similar issues. And therapists can't help. Just like hers doesn't she cannot seem to help her patients. And just like she cannot seem to quit her therapist, her patients keep coming back. I don't get the hate for Conan O'Brien's therapist. He's just as lost and about to lose it as the others. Patients are insufferable, including Rose Byrne. She's no picnic either. Although maybe you understand and feel for her more. Her visions and hallucinations, the surreal moments in the movie could lead you to believe she's certifiable. She's losing it or has already lost it. But can you blame her with everything that she has on her plate? Nobody helps. Her kid's doctors at the clinic, the family therapist, her own therapist, her husband keeps blaming her and everybody keeps repeating the mantra "it's not your fault" while making you feel it's your own damn fault all the time. Especially the doctors.

Also picky eater children might be your worst nightmare. Never understood those. They're out there though. This one sounds like a monster on occasion, while employing that sweet child voice.

I have seen more empathetic and sympathetic movies about mothers losing it. I cannot come up with names right now but I know I have liked those mothers while understanding their depression and suicidal thoughts or whatever it was. But maybe this is an extreme case of reality. That is one unlucky woman. Yes, Rose Byrne is brave. She deserves the accolades.