Apr

1

2007

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Movie: Family Ties / The Birth Of Family / Gajokeui tansaeng / 가족의 탄생
Release Date: May 18, 2006
Country: South Korea
Director: Tae-Yong Kim
Starring: So-ri Moon, Hyo-jin Kong, Tae-gyu Bong
Run Time : 113 Minutes
Editor Rating : 7.5
Users Rating: 8.27 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars (11 votes)

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Plot Synopsis : 3 Separate Segments makes up Family Ties :

1st Segment - Mira, a single female that runs a small restaurant, receives a phone call from her brother after having not heard from him in 5 years. The brother tells her that he would like visit and in a few days he shows up on Mira’s doorsteps. He is accompanied by an older lady (MUCH older lady) that he introduces as his new wife.

2nd Segment - Sun-kyung is ready to leave the country. She breaks up with her boyfriend after seeing him with a former classmate. She also resents her mother, because she is dating a married man and rarely speaks to her much younger step-brother.

3rd Segment - Chae-Hyun and Kyung-Suk are a young couple in love. Unfortunately Kyung-Suk is extremely short tempered and easily gets jealous. Her many friends are a point of contention for Kyung-Suk. Eventually, the couple breaks up because of this, but they still travel together to meet with Chae-Hyun’s mothers.

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Movie Review : One of my biggest gripes with Korean films would be the way the Korean film industry slaps on these generic English titles for the international market. “A Family” “A Bold Family” “Family Ties” “Bloody Ties” “Righteous Ties” are all recent Korean films that have very different styles and content but you would never know that by such similar titles. Furthermore, if you look at the actual Korean movie posters, they all tend to have a similar glossy romantic comedy kind of look – even if the film is not really such a film. This is evident in the film “Family Ties” which is not even remotely close to being a romantic comedy.

Family Ties consists of three seperate short stories that at first seem unrelated. By the time the third segment finishes, you realize that a clever maze of family links has been created via the three different stories. The end result being a film that impressively shows how personalities can be shaped by different family environments. Certainly this idea is not new, but the manner in which Family Ties broached this subject was nothing short of fantastic. Family Ties was directed by Tae-Yong Kim, who co-directed the awesome film, Memento Mori.

Beyond the novel way that Family Ties unfolded, the actors in Family Ties were immensely appealing. First and foremost So-Ri Moon gave an amazingly understated performance as Mi-Ra. When her deadbeat brother came back to visit and brought along a MUCH older wife, the half cocked smile and the arch of So-Ri Moon’s eyebrow told the many different emotions that was passing through her character’s mind. Amazing to think this is the same woman who played the femme fatale with a limp in Bewitching Attraction, the girl afflicted with cerebral palsy in Oasis, and the sexually frustrated housewife in A Good Lawyer’s Wife. When I first watched Family Ties, I didn’t know that the film would consist of 3 separate segments and felt seriously annoyed that the first segment ended - I just wanted it to continue.

After the second segment had time to develop its own story the irritation with the first segment ending so soon diminished greatly. Hyo-jin Kong does another wonderful performance as the purposefully cold hearted Sun-kyung. I could certainly identify with her personality. Hyo-jin Kong’s most memorable performance would have been in Memento Mori where she played the classmate that was jealous of her best friend’s interest in the two outcast students. Seung-beom Ryu also appears briefly in the second segment as Sun-kyung’s boyfriend. Hye-Ok Kim (Old Miss Diary), who played the mother in this second segment, gave another powerful performance and was, perhaps, the most fascinating of all the different characters in the movie.

The third segment is where all the different links start to come together. This segment centers around the relationship between Kyong Seok, played by Bong Tae Gyu (SSunday Seoul, How The Lack of Love Affects Two Men, A Good Lawyer’s Wife), and Chae-Hyun. Kyong-Seok was extremely introverted and easily displayed bouts of jealous rage. A look back at his childhood explained a lot of the reasons why he acted the way he did. Chae Hyun was virtually the polar opposite of Kyong-Seok’s personality. She was well centered, extroverted, and popular among her peers. Yet something between these opposites just clicked. Once the couple arrived at the home of Chae-Hyun’s mothers, the movie just showed all the cards that the filmmakers were playing with in the earlier segments. A sense of glee mixed in with awe hit me right around the conclusion of the film.

I would think Family Ties would appeal most to the fans of Korean Cinema that enjoys thoughtful dramas, excised of all the excesses that bigger budget Korean melodramas can sometimes produce. The film moves along in a calm (some may slow) progression that is well suited for patient individuals, but would be disagreeable for the folks who enjoy more mainstream fast paced films. While, Family Ties, explored the effects that family ties has on an individual’s development, I couldn’t help thinking of myself or other people that I know who matched the personalities of the characters in the movie. I then had to think back to their backgrounds and thought about the family ties that existed in their families. This film is just so good on many different layers.

buy Famil Ties from YesAsia

Cast:
So-ri Moon - Mira
Tae-woong Eom - Hyung-chul
Du-shim Ko - Mu-shin
Hyo-jin Kong - Sun-kyung
Hye-ok Kim - Sun-kyung’s mother
Tae-gyu Bong - Kyung-suk
Yu-mi Jeong

Heung-chae Jeong
Hie-bong Jo
Jin-mo Ju
Dong-yeong Kim
Seung-beom Ryu - Sun-kyung’s ex-boyfriend


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2006 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies |

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2 Comments so far

  1. 2 Johnny Says: September 5, 2007

    Intricate maze like story told with understated finesse. This movie left quite an impression with me, highly recommended!

  2. 1 Dave Says: August 26, 2007

    Caught this movie at the NY Korean Film Festival 2007. The film is a good film lead by a very capable acting cast that brought the characters to life. The pieces don’t really fall into place towards the end and one friend was wondering while the acting and story is interesting to see if they connect. The movie was actually better than what I thought with bits of humor at how we human beings act and also very thoughtful portrayals of crisises in our lives and the choices made. I thought it was interesting on how it was portraying the changing nature of the Korean family. At dinner while talking to a friend, the friend remarked that the movie is good except towards the ending with the fighting couple which was dwelt so much upon that the friend though it was boring.

    For the most part I liked the film for those who are into the enjoyment of character and story development. It was worth the price of admission however this is definitely more a date movie than going with the guys.