Spoilers Discussion of Korean Movie "A Blind River"
- Thread starter divemaster13
- Start date
plsletitrain
Member: Rank 5
I was given the option by @sitenoise (was I????? Hehehe love you) to watch this and I have read the first few discussions on the film and I felt I might get interested on the social issues being presented and since I really can't hold my thoughts on anything,I have to drop my 2(00) cents in every topic. Lol
The first scene--I honestly can't make of it. Abortion would be the more logical theory, but when you're a woman who decides to have an abortion, you must have a strong heart to be able to arrive at that decision so crying like a little girl at the operating table was not consistent with someone who wishes abortion. More like, a surrogate whose baby was arranged to be sold beforehand. That probably was the reason why Lucas was able to reach Australian shores.
On to the number of women on the film—At first I thought that the woman on the first scene was the teenage mom but if I’m not mistaken, the girl whom Lucas asked for directions/place to stay was the same receptionist that the teen girl asked when looking for a hospital or a motel. So it can’t be his mom, assuming that the girl on the abortion table was his mom. They did have some facial similarities (like the chin and face contour, but the scene I mentioned negated this theory).
I never thought that the woman on the motel is his mother because that would be too dramatic. I mean, he looks for his mom and of all the thousands of motels in the country, he runs into the one which his mom owns. That’s too dramatic. The suggestion of @divemaster13 that she was a nun is plausible. She dreams of that choir singing scene (I took it more as a dream), and there was a scene where a nun was walking down the stairs. And her longing for her child but the guilt inside her is consuming her. She must have done something so mortal that she lives in too much guilt. Something like a nun would feel if she gets impregnated.
I think there are different women the film. All presented to magnify the issues that plague Korean motherhood.
My overall assessment on the film: Not great, but not bad.
The first scene--I honestly can't make of it. Abortion would be the more logical theory, but when you're a woman who decides to have an abortion, you must have a strong heart to be able to arrive at that decision so crying like a little girl at the operating table was not consistent with someone who wishes abortion. More like, a surrogate whose baby was arranged to be sold beforehand. That probably was the reason why Lucas was able to reach Australian shores.
On to the number of women on the film—At first I thought that the woman on the first scene was the teenage mom but if I’m not mistaken, the girl whom Lucas asked for directions/place to stay was the same receptionist that the teen girl asked when looking for a hospital or a motel. So it can’t be his mom, assuming that the girl on the abortion table was his mom. They did have some facial similarities (like the chin and face contour, but the scene I mentioned negated this theory).
I never thought that the woman on the motel is his mother because that would be too dramatic. I mean, he looks for his mom and of all the thousands of motels in the country, he runs into the one which his mom owns. That’s too dramatic. The suggestion of @divemaster13 that she was a nun is plausible. She dreams of that choir singing scene (I took it more as a dream), and there was a scene where a nun was walking down the stairs. And her longing for her child but the guilt inside her is consuming her. She must have done something so mortal that she lives in too much guilt. Something like a nun would feel if she gets impregnated.
I think there are different women the film. All presented to magnify the issues that plague Korean motherhood.
My overall assessment on the film: Not great, but not bad.
plsletitrain
Member: Rank 5
I thought I'd post this now before I forget tomorrow:
The Ending---I honestly took it too literally that I thought he was alive! Remember in the scene where the motel woman was putting the big rock on his stomach to submerge him underwater, he was awake and conscious. Natural human tendency would be, that he had a plan to survive the drowning. I also thought that the girlfriend in the end is not the same girlfriend from the start. I'm not so sure about this as I did not watch again but I'm quite sure they have different faces. I only thought that now that he had some closure on his part after his mother-seeking journey, he finally was able to embrace and ready to enter into another relationship (as opposed to his confused self in the beginning that's why he was afraid to commit to his girlfriend). I could be wrong though.
The Ending---I honestly took it too literally that I thought he was alive! Remember in the scene where the motel woman was putting the big rock on his stomach to submerge him underwater, he was awake and conscious. Natural human tendency would be, that he had a plan to survive the drowning. I also thought that the girlfriend in the end is not the same girlfriend from the start. I'm not so sure about this as I did not watch again but I'm quite sure they have different faces. I only thought that now that he had some closure on his part after his mother-seeking journey, he finally was able to embrace and ready to enter into another relationship (as opposed to his confused self in the beginning that's why he was afraid to commit to his girlfriend). I could be wrong though.
divemaster13
Member: Rank 4
Follow-up on the actress credits. I asked my wife to read through the credits for anything like "pregnant girl." She said there was a "pregnant girl" credit for an actress YANG Eun-sun or something like that. That would seem to be the girl at the beginning (the credit was like third from the bottom, indicating a minor role), so likely not any of the other girls in the film.
In the grand scheme of things, I still don't think it matters all that much, as the themes presented are of some interest regardless.
In the grand scheme of things, I still don't think it matters all that much, as the themes presented are of some interest regardless.
sitenoise
Member: Rank 5
Thanks for that. Yeah, doesn't change much, but I think it's good to know, for me anyway.
sitenoise
Member: Rank 5
Wow wow wow ... if that's correct, and this is the actress YANG Eun-sun, it gives me little goosebumps all over. She starred in another little film I found most excellent and it was seen by even less people than Blind River:
Viewfinder
My bloviated review at IMDb
Short blurb at Letterboxd
Very cool (sitenoise) film
divemaster13
Member: Rank 4
If I'm reading your links correct, I'm not sure if YANG Eun-sun equates to YANG Eun-yong (Westernization of Korean names can be a bit tricky and arbitrary), but even if not, it's a good prompt to introduce folks to another UTR film. Kudos for that. I'll add Viewfinder to my list of movies to check out, even if it's just to come chime back in here to ask what the hell you were smoking LOL.
sitenoise
Member: Rank 5
Oops, I got too excited and didn't even notice. Koreans don't really have names that make sense, just these things they spell differently from time to time to remind us it's better to refer to people, and call them, by their position in the world.
divemaster13
Member: Rank 4
Yeah, my wife is one of 4 girls. All named "Yung" or a permutation. For example, her younger sister is "Yung sun" or "Young-sun" or even "Youngson" or "Youngsun" depending on the whim of the moment. 4 girls, with 3-4 permutations each, it's not easy to keep up. Plus, my wife recently affected an American name ("Jane"), and sometimes people will call to speak with "Jane" and I have no idea who they're talking about until I remember, "Oh yeah, my wife is now Jane."
plsletitrain
Member: Rank 5
@sitenoise
I'd better receive a good reason on why I watched a 3 minute video of cat girls in panty shorts and peeping breasts here. What a sight to behold.
@divemaster13
Yeah, same as "Jeong" which can be called "Jung" and "Heon" which can be called "Hun".
I'd better receive a good reason on why I watched a 3 minute video of cat girls in panty shorts and peeping breasts here. What a sight to behold.
@divemaster13
Yeah, same as "Jeong" which can be called "Jung" and "Heon" which can be called "Hun".
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clayton-12
Member: Rank 4
Yeah @sitenoise ... there better be a damn good reason why you made me watch that video five times!
sitenoise
Member: Rank 5
I think the hands-under-the-chin move is adorable. And also that's some kind of fan remix--the drums and the heavy metal guitar are overdubs. Fantastic!
But really, it was the first thing that came to mind of Koreans and their "place in the world" namings. Oppa is, I think, elder brother, or something.
plsletitrain
Member: Rank 5
Oh what was I thinking, of course we're all for research purposes here. They sang a very deep artiste song that's worth dissecting to search meanings for. I know you guys were purely listening to their song and you were covering your eyes so you can feel the depth of the music.
Yes, oppa could also be a term of endearment for couples.
@clayton-12
Bwahahahaha! Of course, 5 times is low when you're reSEARCHING for something.
Yes, oppa could also be a term of endearment for couples.
@clayton-12
Bwahahahaha! Of course, 5 times is low when you're reSEARCHING for something.