Summer Midnight Filmfest (Part 3)
Dir.: Kim Tae-gyun / Cast: Cha In-pyo, Sin Myeong- cheol
Year Released: 2008 / In Korean, with English subtitles
A once-famous North Korean football player, Kim Yong-Soo, now works in a coalmine. He, his wife and his only son Jun-i live in a small earthen hut. For them, and for the other in their neighborhood, too, life is difficult. In their case, they’re happy particularly when son and father play football together. Bad luck strikes them when Yong-soo’s pregnant wife catches TB due to malnutrition and the medication is not available in
.
The film shows terrible scenes, which, I believe, are integral to the message of the film. It is indeed a universal lament for refugees, particularly those from
.
Watching the film made me angry of injustice (or inhumanity). It made me hold some deep sighs because of the North Koreans still living in dehumanizing conditions and the rest of the world can’t do anything due to political reasons.
Rating: 4.0/4.0
THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH
Dir.: John Sayles / Cast: Jeni Courtney, Mick Lally, Eileen Colgan, Richard Sheridan
Year Released: 1993
When her father realizes that in his present state he is not fit to raise a daughter, Fiona Coneelly, now 10 years old, is sent to live with her grandparents in a fishing village across Roan Inish (The Island of the Seals). Several generations of the Coneellys had lived in Roan Inish until tragedy forced them off the island. Now, myth and reality connects the Coneellys to the island: the seal who became a woman who was to be Fiona’s mother, who later returned to the sea; and, Fiona’s little brother who drifted to the sea, who may be dead now, or nurtured by the seals. Now, Fiona will discover the truth and, in the process, will rediscover her family’s past.
This is a kind of film where fantasy is real; not solely for children, but for adults, too. It is a beautiful marriage of myth and reality that results in a lyrically visual treat.
Rating: 4.0/4.0
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