Park Ji Hoo's ‘House of Hummingbird' and more: 4 best slice of life Korean films to watch
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Loading... - Ndari Aisah
- 04 Nov 2022
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1. Little Forest
It is the story of a young woman (Kim Tae Ri) who returns to her childhood home, in a traditional Korean village, after leaving for the big city in pursuit of what turned out to be an elusive dream. When she returns home, her mother isn't there - but her mother's ‘Little Forest’, the many ways in which a single mother successfully made a home for her much loved child, unfurl with a long succession of lovingly sketched details involving mostly food preparation. The unfurling moments are lightly but lovingly shared with two childhood friends (Jin Ki Joo and Ryu Jun Yeol), one of whom also abandoned their elusive dream of success in the big city (Seoul) and the other who is still pursuing the small town equivalent of that elusive dream—without ever leaving home.
2. House of Hummingbird
In Seoul in 1994, Eun Hee (Park Ji Hoo) is a quiet 14-year-old from a working-class background preparing to enter high school. She loves drawing and hanging out with her best friend, Ji Suk (Park Seo Yoon), with whom she attends cram school. She is in love with her boyfriend, Ji Wan (Jung Yoon Seo), who she is secretly dating. Her parents, especially her father, tend to ignore her needs and life in favor of helping her older brother, who abuses her physically and verbally. Her older sister is similarly ignored and abused. At her cram school, Eun Hee meets her new, free-spirited Chinese teacher, Ms. Kim, who she quickly forms a bond with. While dancing at a club with Ji-suk, she also meets Yu Ri, another schoolgirl who clearly has a crush on her, and the two become friends. Eun Hee's life quickly unravels. She discovers a lump behind her ear, which doctors later determine requires surgery to remove. When caught shoplifting with Ji Suk, her father is called after Ji Suk reveals her identity in fear, leading to severe punishment for Eun Hee; when she confronts Ji Suk later, she refuses to apologize for the betrayal. Ji Wan is forced to break up with her after his wealthy mother discovers her identity and lower social class. Despite all the tribulations, Ms. Kim encourages Eun Hee to keep her spirit and continue to move forward. Eun Hee is deeply moved by her advice and grows attached to her teacher.
3. Il Mare
The story begins with Eun Joo (Jun Ji Hyun) moving out of a house by the sea called ‘Il Mare’. As she is leaving, she leaves a Christmas card in the mailbox, asking the next resident to please forward her mail to her. Sung Hyun (Lee Jung Jae), an architectural student, receives her card, but is puzzled, since he is the first resident at ‘Il Mare’ and the card is dated 2 years in the future. After a series of back and forth correspondences, Eun Joo and Sung Hyun realize they are living 2 years apart, Eun Joo in the year 1999 and Sung Hyun in the year 1997. After some testing, Eun Joo and Sung Hyun discover that the mailbox at ‘Il Mare’ is enabling their communication and they can pass objects and living creatures through. Utilizing the mailbox, Eun Joo asks Sung Hyun to retrieve a tape player she lost two years ago, which he gets for her. After his estranged father, a noted architect, falls ill, Sung Hyun asks Eun Joo to obtain a book about his father, which she does. However, she succumbs to a minor traffic accident and while hospitalized, the book fails to reach Sung-hyun in time before his father's death. After reading the book, he finally accepts his father's love for him and takes up his architectural work once more. Read More…
