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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.
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