Kazoku no kuni

There was a showing of this movie nearby, so I decided to go watch it with a friend. I was thinking this would be a movie providing great insight in the Korea-Japan relationship and Japanese society in general at the time (1997).

What followed was a fairly grating 100 minutes. The first half hour was a great introduction to the cast, with good acting and camera work especially considering the budget. I kept wondering how everything would work out, what the interaction between the characters would result in.

Nothing much, is what resulted. Besides the family and the childhood girlfriend, the rest of the cast barely shows up again. It's a story illustrating how different ideologies and strict national policies are very capable of breaking apart entire families.

But it could have been.. more. A lot more, is what I think at least. I ended up disappointed, no applause was heard at the end of the film, and it felt like the people in the audience that genuinely enjoyed the movie could be counted on two hands.

I think, unless you have a vast interest in the subject, or have a personal connection to the movie's contents, this might not end up being the movie you were hoping for. That's my honest opinion. I did like picking up on the Korean and Japanese intermingling during conversations, but if besides that and the awesome queer Japanese guy being the main things I'll remember of this movie, that doesn't say a lot.