Ode to My Father

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Movie
Original title Gukje Sijang ( 국제 시장 )
Country of production South Korea
original language Korean
English
German
Vietnamese
Publishing year 2014
length 126 minutes
Rod
Director Youn Je-kyoon
script Park Su-jin
production Youn Je-kyoon
Park Ji-seong
music Lee Byung-woo
camera Choi Young-hwan
cut Lee Jin
occupation

Ode to My Father ( 국제 시장 Gukje Sijang "International Market") is a South Korean drama directed by Youn Je-kyoon from 2014. The film illustrates South Korean history from the Korean War to the present through the protagonist Yoon Deok-soo . The film opened in South Korean cinemas on December 17, 2014. With 14.2 million viewers, it was the second most successful film in South Korea at the time (now the third most successful). Ode to My Father celebrated its European premiere at the Berlinale 2015 , where it was screened in the Panorama section and 20 first-generation Korean immigrants were in the audience.

action

The Kkotbun Ine store in the Busan International Market .

During the evacuation of Hnamngnam at the beginning of the Korean War (1950), refugees were brought south by the American Navy. Including the Yoon family. Young Yoon Deok-soo was supposed to take care of his sister Mak-soon during the escape, but he loses her. So her father stays behind to look for her. The last thing he says to Deok-soo is that he should go to Busan with his mother and two younger siblings , where Deok-soo's aunt runs a business (called 꽃분이 네 Kkotbun Ine ) on the international market.

In Busan, they are taken in by Kkotbun in their modest home. There Deok-soo meets the boy Dal-goo, with whom he will remain friends well into old age. In 1953, North and South Korea signed an armistice. The family is optimistic that they will be able to go home soon. However, it is only a truce and Korea remains divided , making a return to the north impossible.

Years later in the 1960s , Deok-soo is an adult but cannot go to college because he has no money. So he works. But his younger brother always got good grades and was admitted to Seoul National University . Since his jobs in Korea don't bring enough money, Deok-soo decides to go to Germany to earn enough money for his brother's tuition fees . In Duisburg he works as a guest worker in the coal mines. During his time in Germany he falls in love with Young-ja, who came to Germany as a nurse. One day there is a serious accident in the mine, in which Deok-soo and Dal-goo are buried. However, both can be saved. Deok-soo then returns to Korea. Young-ja follows him a short time later. They get married and Young-ja gives birth to two sons.

Aunt Kkotbun dies a few years later. His uncle now wants to sell their shop in order to get some money. But Deok-soo definitely wants to keep it. In order to get money quickly and to fight the shop, he moves against the will of his family in the Vietnam War . As a technician, he was safe in war and would not fight. But he is a direct witness of an explosion and can only barely escape death. In his letters to his wife he always writes that everything is fine. However, after the war he returned to Korea with a lame leg. He got into a gun battle with the Viet Cong while he was evacuating a few villagers.

Deok-soo continues to run the Kkotbun Ine store with his wife. In 1983 the major broadcasters set up programs to give citizens the opportunity to find relatives they lost in the turmoil of the Korean War. Deok-soo also takes part in the programs. The first connection established via the broadcaster is unsuccessful. The other person is not his father. The family is devastated. But on the same day another connection is made, this time to Los Angeles ( USA ). The woman turns out to be Deok-soo's sister Mak-soon. It was developed by an American couple adopted and does not speak Korean. Mak-soon can meet her mother again before she dies the following year.

In the present, Deok-soo finally decides to sell the small import shop, after having stubbornly insisted on keeping the shop despite losses for a long time. His father is now too old to come there.

production

Ode to My Father was filmed mainly in South Korea's southern port city of Busan . Director Youn Je-kyoon comes from Busan and has already shot the films Miracle on 1st Street (2007) and Tsunami - The Wave of Death ( Haeundae , 2009) there. From September 3 to December 25, 2013, filming took place at the eponymous International Market ( Gukje Sijang ), the largest open-air market in Busan, which was brought to life by war refugees in the 1950s. The film was also shot in the Czech Republic and Thailand . The film increased tourism in Busan.

reception

Ode to My Father was controversial in the South Korean media over allegations that the film idealized the past under the authoritarian regimes. These discussions began when then President Park Geun-hye emphasized the importance of patriotism by quoting the scene in the film where the husband and wife end their argument as the national anthem sounds and the flag salutes. As a result, the film received criticism as a conservative work in which industrialization would be glorified. However, the liberal politician Moon Jae-in also said that the film reflected the reality of the time and that it was inappropriate to describe the film as conservative.

For the film critic Jeong Ji-wuk, the political debate contributed to the further success of the film. Furthermore, nostalgia is a key factor in the high number of visitors, as middle-aged viewers aged 40 and over and older people accounted for 34.5% of ticket sales. Film critic Kim Hyung-seok said the film felt like an ode to themselves for those who lived during the years shown in the film.

Director Youn Je-kyoon said he purposely left political perspectives out of the movie because all he wanted was to tell the story of his father and his generation who sacrificed themselves for their children. Ode to My Father was supposed to be a family film that could be watched over the generations. The film is a tribute to Youn's own parents and also uses their names for the main characters, Deok-soo and Young-ja. Youn said in an interview that his father passed away while he was a student and that he had no chance to say "thank you". He hopes the film will enable better communication between the younger and older generations.

Jason Bechervaise of the film magazine Screen praised the camera work by Choi Young-hwan and the production design by the experienced artist Ryu Seong-hee. The film was sentimental, but the craftsmanship of the film and the original script made up for it. For Clarence Tsui of the Hollywood Reporter , Ode to My Father is an epic work. Lee Byeong-woo's music is bombastic and overwhelming. For Tan Kee Yun from The New Paper , Ode is the best Korean film. It is an emotional film with excellent actors. Critics have compared the film to Forrest Gump (1994) by Robert Zemeckis .

Awards

Chunsa Film Art Awards 2015

  • Award for Best Screenplay for Park Su-jin
  • Special audience award for the best film

Udine Far East Film Festival 2015

  • Audience award for the best film

Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival 2015

  • IT Star Award for Oh Dal-su

Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2015

  • Best 10 films of the year

Daejong Film Award 2015

  • Award in the Best Film category
  • Award in the category Best Director for Youn Je-kyoon
  • Award in the category Best Actor for Hwang Jung-min
  • Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for Oh Dal-su
  • Award for Best Screenplay for Park Su-jin
  • Award in the category Best Cinematography for Choi Young-hwan
  • Award in the Best Editing category for Lee Jin
  • Award in the Best Planning category
  • Award in the Best Sound Recording category for Lee Seung-cheol, Han Myung-hwan
  • High Technology Special Award for Han Tae-jeong, Son Seung-hyeon, Kim Dae-jun, Kim Jeong-su, Akira Kai

Blue Dragon Awards 2015

  • Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for Oh Dal-su
  • Award in the Best Production Design category for Ryu Seong-hee
  • Audience award for the most popular film

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ode to My Father (2014). In: Korean Film Biz Zone. Korean Film Council, accessed November 21, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Gukje Shijang. In: Berlinale.de. Retrieved November 21, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Korean weepie screened at Berlin Film Festival. In: Chosun Ilbo . February 10, 2015, accessed November 21, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Sung-young Yang: They Were There! In Gukje Market . November 28, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  5. ↑ Soon-jin Song: YOON Je-Kyun's GUKJE MARKET Wraps Filming . January 10, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  6. ↑ Jong-hyun Baek, So-young Sung: Popularity of Ode boosts tourism in Busan . January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ Busan offers tour of locations from Ode to My Father . January 2, 2015. Accessed January 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ Pierce Conran: Review: ODE TO MY FATHER Puts Blockbuster Spin On Melodrama. In: ScreenAnarchy. December 5, 2014, accessed November 22, 2018 .
  9. ↑ a b Jung Hyun-mok: Smash-hit films criticized for political leanings. In: Korea JoongAng Daily . January 21, 2015, accessed November 22, 2018 .
  10. ↑ a b Ahn Sung-mi: 'Ode to My Father' stirs nostalgia, controversy. Film sheds light on father's generation, on track to hit 10 million viewer mark. In: The Korea Herald . January 6, 2015, accessed November 22, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Film on modern Korean history tops 10 mln in attendance. In: The Korea Herald . Yonhap , January 14, 2015, accessed November 22, 2018 .
  12. ↑ 'Ode to My Father' Set to Pull 10 Million Viewers. In: The Chosun Ilbo . January 13, 2015, accessed November 22, 2018 .
  13. ↑ a b Lim Ju-ri, Jin Eun-soo: Nostalgic viewers are drawn to 'Ode'. Struggles of a man after Korean War strike chord with people in their 40s. In: Korea JoongAng Daily . December 30, 2014, accessed November 22, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Jason Bechervaise: Ode To My Father. In: Screen Daily. December 23, 2014, accessed November 22, 2018 .
  15. ↑ a b Clarence Tsui: 'Ode to My Father' ('Gukje Shijang'): Berlin Review. In: The Hollywood Reporter . February 6, 2016, accessed November 23, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Tan Kee Yun: Movie Review: Ode To My Father (PG13). In: The New Paper . April 22, 2015, accessed November 23, 2018 .
  17. ^ Jeannette Catsoulis: Searching for Family Along a River of Tears. In: The New York Times . January 8, 2015, accessed November 23, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Yvonne Teh: Film review: Ode to My Father - a Korean Forrest Gump. In: South China Morning Post . April 8, 2015, accessed November 23, 2018 .
  19. ↑ Pierce Conran: Udine's Top Award Goes to ODE TO MY FATHER. In: Korean Film Biz Zone. May 4, 2015, accessed November 21, 2018 .
  20. ^ Pierce Conran: LEE Min-ho and MOON Chae-won to Receive BiFan Awards. Awards for JUNG Woo, KIM Go-eun and IT Star OH Dal-su. In: Korean Film Biz Zone. July 10, 2015, accessed November 21, 2018 .
  21. ↑ Pierce Conran: THE THRONE Tops Korean Association of Film Critics Awards. In: Korean Film Biz Zone. November 2, 2015, accessed November 21, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Sonia Kil: 'Ode to My Father' Takes Ten Trophies at Grand Bell Awards. In: Variety . November 20, 2015, accessed November 21, 2018 .