Time and its many forms form the core of Coming of Age, one of the standout new titles at this year's Busan International Film Festival. Director Jeong Seung-o explores familial responsibility and personal desire with wit, frankness and lucidity in this rich sophomore work.
Cheol-taek is an ageing alcoholic, living alone in a hovel and working a factory job, who is diagnosed with stage four cancer. The burden of caring for him falls to his only daughter Jeong-mi, a struggling actress making ends meet as an extra on a TV show.
Meanwhile, Hyeon-suk, Jeong-mi's mother and Cheol-taek's estranged wife, is also suffering from the pressures of family. She lives alone in a well-appointed home and wants to live her own life, but her siblings, all of whom have families and responsibilities, want their elderly mother to move in with her. They also want her to organise her 90th birthday do.
Hyeon-suk's mother is viewed by all as a burden but she also provides the narration for the film, in which she recalls her complicated memories from several devastating events in 20th-century Korean history, such as the Colonial Era and the Korean War. Her children may want to celebrate her through a party, but in truth they don't want to have to deal with her anymore. While this may be for practical reasons, it also reflects Korea's desire to move on from its dark past.
Since Jeong-mi doesn't have any siblings to negotiate with, she has no choice but to care for her father, who faces his likely approaching death by bottling up his fear, drinking and communicating his feelings very poorly to his poor daughter.
Cheol-taek's experiences with chemotherapy are no picnic, but the real struggles come during hospice care, which seems equally difficult for the patient as it is for his daughter, who has to mind him at all hours and do all the work that a nurse she can't afford would otherwise be expected to do.
Jeong's Move the Grave was also a film about death, but there the characters were dealing with the aftermath of it. In Coming of Age, death (or at least the threat of it) once again brings a family back together, but here it's a clear and present danger. Whether or not death comes for any of the characters in this film's running time, its presence seems to hang in the air, draining it of saturated colours and sharpening its edges.
He retains the understated humour of his impressive debut, which adds weight to a story that might otherwise have gotten bogged down by its sombre themes. As the title suggests, the mood is more mature and contemplative, even if the multi-pronged narrative about a fractured family is less cohesive.
The other difference here is the darker edge of this rumination about generational change and the frustrations and fears that come with that. This is a film where children prepare food for their parents but seldom eat with them.
Stylistically, the film settles for high contrast photography, underscoring the harsh realities these characters face. The result is a film that isn't exactly pretty, but that's partly the point.
Hotel by the River actor Ki Joo-bong is predictably excellent as the stubborn, soju-swilling Cheol-taek. He grunts and darts his eyes in his portrayal of a character unable to express his pain and fear, but he also succeeds in wringing out humour from Cheol-taek's grim circumstances.
Also a standout is Yang Mal-geum as his estranged wife. Hyeon-suk has less screen time, but Yang turns her into a vividly frustrated character who eats up the screen every time she appears on it. In recent years, Yang has cemented herself as one of the most charismatic indie film actors, with memorable leading roles in The Apartment with Two Women and Manok.
Against these seasoned veterans, Ha Yoon-kyung -- known for her TV work and other indie roles, like last year's BIFF title Concerning My Daughter -- does fine work, although as the tired Jeong-mi she doesn't have the same opportunity to grab us. That said, she does get a handful of prime comic moments, like her reaction to an overjoyed director during her audition, when she realises that what he wants for his film is not her, but rather the prop rock she brought with her.
Coming of Age is another compelling work from Jeong, bolstered by fine performances and plenty of mordant wit, mingling with meaty themes.