The Reel Bits

Tag: Moon Sook

  • Review: Herstory

    Review: Herstory

    Inspired by the ‘Gwanbu Trial’ during the 1990s, HERSTORY (허스토리) follows the struggles of a group of Korean ‘comfort women’ who attempted to attain visibility and an admission of responsibility from the Japanese government. Based on this emotionally fraught story, Min Kyu-Dong’s (The Treacherous, Horror Stories series) film takes place over 6 years, chronicling the 23 trials as the legal battles and fierce debate that surrounded this issue.

    ‘Comfort women’ is of course the euphemism used for the women forced into sex slavery in the Japanese occupied territories during the Second World War. Last year’s documentary Twenty-Two dealt with the surviving Chinese women who have had to live with this legacy. Min’s fictionalised account of the Korean group action is no less emotionally charged, albeit sometimes deliberately so. 

    Min (with co-writers Jung Gyeo-woon and Seo Hye-rim-I) structures his story around Busan-based travel agent Moon Jung-Sook (Kim Hee-Ae), who in 1991 is accused of running prostitution tours thanks to a dodgy manager. During her business’ closure, she rallies her Women’s Association to start a local call centre for the group of ‘grannies’ who want to make a case against Japan. During the process, she discovers that her housekeeper Bae Jung-Kil (Kim Hae-Sook) was once a Japanese sex slave. Taking it personally, she and Attorney Lee Sang-Il (Kim Joon-Han) begin a process that takes over a decade to see through.

    Herstory (허스토리)

    The Gwabnu Trials were a massively complicated constitutional law matter couched in a history of intergovernmental negotiations that began in 1951. For decades, Japan denied any wrongdoing: in 2007 Shinzō Abe claimed there was no evidence that the Japanese military had used sex slaves. By reducing it to a courtroom drama, Min reminds us of this emotional animosity between nations, and how divisive it remains.

    Kim Hee-Ae is fierce as the nominal lead, a lightning rod in the middle of some fine performances from a mixture of veterans. Kim Hae-Sook (Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds) has some very powerful moments, especially breaking down during courtroom speeches, and balancing some difficult truths about her past. Moon Sook (Keys To The Heart) lays herself bare as another ‘granny.’ Lee Yong-Nyeo (Microhabitat) is as nutty as a fruitbat, and while it is an excellent performance, the writing of it steers a little too close to archetype for the film’s own good.

    HERSTORY may not be the final word on the Gwanbu Trial, or the broader implications of national moral culpability. In fact, it wasn’t until 2015 that Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye reached a formal agreement on the matter. Indeed, recent global border policies around the world remind us that universal human rights appear to be optional depending on who the regime is. If nothing else, films like this hopefully bring us one step close to it never happening again.

    [stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]Asia in Focus2018 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Min Kyu-Dong | WRITERS: Jung Gyeo-woon, Min Kyu-Dong, Seo Hye-rim-I | CAST: Kim Hee-Ae, Kim Hae-Sook, Ye Soo-Jung, Moon Sook, Lee Yong-Nyeo | DISTRIBUTOR: Cine Asia (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 121 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 26 July 2018 (AUS)[/stextbox]

  • CineAsia Oz tells ‘Herstory’ in July, adds new trailer

    CineAsia Oz tells ‘Herstory’ in July, adds new trailer

    The fight for justice takes centre stage in HERSTORY (허스토리), a new Korean drama that is set for an Australian and New Zealand release on 26 July 2018 from CineAsia Oz.

    Inspired by the ‘Gwanbu Trial’ of the early 1990s, it follows the struggles of 10 Korean ‘comfort women’ who attempted to attain visibility and  an admission of responsibility from the Japanese government. The film takes place over 6 years and 23 trials as the legal battles are met with aggression and empathy on all sides of the debate.

    Directed by Min Kyu-Dong (The Treacherous, Horror Stories series), it stars Kim Hee-Ae (The Vanished), Kim Hae-Sook (Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds), Ye Soo-Jung (Train to Busan, Psychokinesis), Moon Sook (Keys To The Heart), and Lee Yong-Nyeo (The Handmaiden). 

    Set for release in South Korea in June 2018, it will make an interesting narrative accompaniment to the documentary Twenty-Two that was released late last year, following the 22 surviving Chinese women who were forced into sex slavery during the Japanese occupation of World War II.

  • Review: Keys to the Heart

    Review: Keys to the Heart

    If Lee Byung-hun is being likened to the Tom Cruise of South Korean cinema, then KEYS TO THE HEART (그것만이 내 세상) might just be his Rain Man. The comparison is an obvious one, dealing as it does with a man suddenly finding out about his autistic brother. Yet despite the unoriginality of the premise, writer/director Choi Sung-Hyun’s film still brings the warm and fuzzies.

    The setup is simplicity itself. Washed-up boxer Jo-Ha (Lee Byung-hun) is drawn back into the life of his estranged mother In-Sook (Youn Yuh-Jung). Learning he has a younger brother Jin-Tae (Park Jung-Min), an autistic savant with a penchant for piano, the brothers begin to transform each other.  

    Keys to the Heart (그것만이 내 세상)

    While it is hard to completely separate KEYS TO THE HEART from Barry Levinson’s Oscar-winning film, it’s also just as difficult to not get swept up in the inherent goodness of it all. It’s a series of on-rails comic/dramatic vignettes as Jo-Ha slowly gets his life back in order, and Jin-Tae learns of a world outside his sheltered existence. 

    The comedy ranges from the subtle interactions of Lee and Park to the latter miming public defecation. If it sounds slightly silly, it’s because it is, and everyone involved seems to be content enough to just let the inoffensive waves wash over them. It all builds up to the classic change-of-heart at the airport trope, and a musical finale, but it will be a heart-hearted person indeed who doesn’t shed a tear or two in the last 20 minutes. 

    You’ll feel completely manipulated, of course, but the star power paves over numerous obvious moves in Choi Sung-Hyun’s script. Ultimately a showcase Lee and Park, it’s the latter who is a complete revelation. Seen recently in The King’s Case Note and Psychokinesis, Park completely disappears into his autistic persona. With a handful of repeated phrases, and physical affectations, Park delivers a transformative performance that might just earn him a few awards nods.

    Meanwhile, international star Lee banks on his brooding looks and tough-guy persona, but it’s a fairly safe investment. His journey from ex-boxer to nice guy is preordained, but he’s impossible to look away from. Industry legend Youn Yuh-Jung, off the back of The Bacchus Lady, has a small but memorable role. Her presence give the film gravitas, and some of scenes will be single-handedly responsible for the sales of tissues during the post-film sniffles.

    KEYS TO THE HEART won’t score any accolades for imagination or daring. Yet despite its similarities to other films, or perhaps because of them, it will still earn points as an audience favourite and a chance to see some fine actors working together. 

    [stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]Asia in Focus2017 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Choi Sung-Hyun | WRITERS:Choi Sung-Hyun | CAST: Lee Byung-hun, Youn Yuh-Jung, Park Jung-Min, Moon Sook, Choi Ri | DISTRIBUTOR: Magnum Films/ChopFlix (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 120 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 8 February 2017 (AUS) [/stextbox]