Summary
The vital importance of language to a nation comes to the fore in another film covering the Japanese occupation of Korea.
There have been quite a few Korean films set during the Japanese occupation in the last few years, from The Age of Shadows to this year’s A Resistance. It is, after all, the 100th anniversary of the 1st March Independence Protests that underpin so much of Korea’s modern history. MAL-MO-E: THE SECRET MISSION (말모이) is about a very specific slice of that era and the importance of language to cultural identity.
The film opens in 1933, as a group smuggles the titular dictionary across the country. Flash forward to the 1940s, where Japanese occupiers have forbidden Koreans from speaking their own language. After ex-con Pan-Soo (Yoo Hae-Jin) tries to pick the wrong pocket, he becomes involved with Ryoo Jung-Hwan (Yoon Kye-Sang), a man who is secretly trying to publish a Korean dictionary with the Korean Language Society.
The plot sounds like it might be ripped straight from the pages of a Dan Brown novel, although the execution couldn’t be further from that. A low-key drama that about identity not conspiracy, the emphasis here is not on the individual moments of tension – although there are a number of these, especially in the final act – but on the vital importance of language to the notion of individual and national sovereignty.
“Words reflect the spirit,” we are repeatedly told, although writer/director Eom Yu-na doesn’t necessarily try to do anything outrageously twisty with them. Instead she uses the illiterate character of Pan-Soo to convey the transformative nature of literacy in one’s own language. Like her occasionally heavy-handed screenplay to A Taxi Driver, the non-believer slowly having his perceptions changed is core to the success of this representation.
Yoo Hae-Jin (The Battle: Roar to Victory, Intimate Strangers) is in his element here as the ostensible lead, a semi-comic performance that relies partly on his well-timed buffoonery and natural charm. Yoon Kye-sang is a foil as academic with a well-placed stick who learns the value of the common touch though Pan-Soo’s homespun aphorisms.
In 1942 there were 33 arrests and 2 deaths in custody related to the dictionary project. MAL-MO-E might not revolutionise the way we look at this era of Korean history, but it does show that revolutions don’t have to be large-scale to be impactful. Cinema fans should also enjoy some of the references to period films, with posters and clips peppered throughout. While Eom Yu-na may overstate the case a little, it’s nevertheless a broad brushstroke that should have you rushing out to do a masters in linguistics or archival practices.
2019 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Eom Yu-na | WRITERS: Eom Yu-na | CAST: Yoo Hae-jin, Yoon Kye-sang | DISTRIBUTOR: Korean Film Festival in Australia 2019 (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 135 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 22 August – 12 September 2019 (KOFFIA)
