Electrifying drama Return to Seoul will touch your nerves and rattle your soul
There are two cautionary tales involved with Davy Chou’s new filmThe first is industry-related, and speaks to the big, troubling challenge that comes with releasing any even vaguely independent cinema in the current climate: In an effort to goose its Oscars chances, the U.S. distributor ofreleased the film in a handful of New York and Los Angeles screens late this past December.
Well, now Chou’s film is actually here for people to access, even though the hype is slightly tarnished by the movie’s failure to actually get any of that awards-season attention. Does that make the film somehow lesser than? I can only hope not, given that the movie is one of the more exciting, invigorating dramas to come along so far this year .is, ultimately, a movie about the dangers of looking into your past – of where you came from, and what that means about where you might be going.
Impatient and reckless, Freddie is a disrupting force to anyone she encounters. She ignores social cues, questions authority at every turn, and seems to live her life as if it should have ended long ago. And thank goodness for that, as by centring his film around such an unpredictable and at times intensely unlikeable character, Chou bucks any expectations that typically arrive with films about people rediscovering their roots.
Just when you think you have a handle on the character, and where her story might be going, the film hits you over the head with a thwack – perhaps an attempt to symbolize the many emotional head-spins that Freddie herself encounters, or maybe just Chou’s way of giving a metaphorical middle finger to the stranger-in-a-strange-land genre.
Either way, Chou’s film – anchored by Park’s tough, committed performance – ends in a place that feels miles removed from where it started. Savour the journey, whenever you might be able to do so.
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