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ARCHIVE

24th(2022)



Soup and Ideology

YANG Yong-hi

  • South Korea, Japan
  • 2021
  • 118min
  • DCP
  • color

SYNOPSIS

A mother with Alzheimer¡¯s shares her repressed memories with her daughter before they vanish forever. The daughter slowly begins to understand her mother for the first time as she listens to what was hidden deep inside, including painful memories of the Jeju uprising her mother had hoped to keep locked away.

PROGRAM NOTE

As the title suggests, the film is roughly divided into two parts. In the first half, ¡°Soup¡± refers to samgyetang, although it has a very high proportion of garlic and the way it is mixed with rice or ramen separately is a bit unfamiliar. Its long cooking time and ¡°difficulty to eat elegantly¡± is repeatedly presented among three people of different nationalities: the director herself (South Korea), her mother (North Korea), and her husband (Japan). However, the intimacy is actually more focused between the mother and the husband. The mother and daughter sometimes ¡°fight over money¡± and the director confesses that ¡°mother was a pressure to me.¡± This conflict is due to ¡°ideology,¡± as introduced in detail in the director's previous films, however it is also precisely because she could not understand why her mother ¡°supports North Korea so much¡±. Thus, the second half of the film depicts the process in how the director "can't blame her mother anymore after knowing about 4.3" on a visit to Jeju Island. The process of understanding does not go through a direct explanation from the mother. Unfortunately, the mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer¡¯s and speaks significantly less compared to the first half. Instead, the camera focuses on capturing the director and mother in one frame. It is a part that makes us assume that a kind of transition between the two is based on understanding. Afterwards, the director receives a letter from his nephew living in North Korea and writes a long reply but fails to send it. It may be a random leap that does not fit the context, but I look forward to the day when the director and her nephew will be put into frame again. [LEE Yumi]

Director

  • YANG Yong-hiYANG Yong-hi

    Yang is a second-generation Korean-Japanese born in Osaka. She studied documentaries at the New School University in New York. Her debut film, Dear Pyongyang (2006), won awards including at the Busan IFF, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Berlinale. Yang has also directed Our Homeland (2012), which was named ¡°the best Japanese film of 2012¡± by Kinema Junpo and won Best Picture at the Mainichi Film Awards.

Credit

  • ProducerARAI Kaoru, YANG Yonghi, Baekho jj
  • Cast YANG Yonghi, KANG Junghi, ARAI Kaoru
  • Cinematography KATO Takanobu, YANG Yonghi, Baekho jj
  • Editor Baekho jj YANG Yonghi