<A Petal (Kkoch-ip)> (1996)

Director Jang Seon-Woo
Production Company Mirasin Korea
Distributor Dae Woo Cinema
Date of Rate 1996-03-14
Date of Theatrical Release 1996-04-05
Running Time 101 min.
Genre Social Drama

Staff :
Writer Choi Yun
Screenplay(Adaptation) Jang Mun-Il, Jang Seon-Woo
Producer Ahn Byeong-Ju
Director of PhotoGraphy Yoo Young-Kil
Gaffer Kim Dong-Ho

Cast(Actor/Actress) :
Lee Jeong-Hyeon, Moon Seong-Keun, Lee Young-Ran, Choo Sang-Mi

Synopsis

May 1980, amid the gunfire of the Gwangju uprising, a fifteen-year-old girl (Lee Jeong-hyeon) abandons her dying mother and runs away. She tags along with a complete stranger a construction worker named Jang (Moon Sung-keun) whom she calls by the endearment "Elder Brother." Her unbroken silence, aimless gaze, and traumatized body drive Jang to frustrated rage. Wishing to escape the nightmare of her presence, Jang mercilessly abuses her. But with each passing day he finds himself becoming absorbed into her pain and sorrow. Meanwhile, "we" (Seol Gyeong-gu, Choo Sang-mi, and Park Chul-min) search high and low for the younger sister of a friend who has met a mysterious end, but to no avail. One day, Jang watches as the girl hovers around a grave. Sitting before her mother's tomb, the girl confesses how she wrenched her hand out of her mother's dying grip in order to run away. The girl sets off on her way once more, and by the grave site, a cleansing ritual is performed to wash away the wounds of Gwangju. It is at this moment that "our" narration flows over the scene: "If you should glimpse her bare flesh through the folds of her torn and soiled skirt, turn your head away and pass by as if you had seen nothing at all. Even if she tugs at your elbow or sleeve, gently loosen her fingers. If you see her following behind you someday, do not be afraid of her or speak a threatening word. Simply gaze upon her with interest."

Notes

"The first movie to earnestly represent the wounds left by the Gwangju Democratization Movement, using a unique multi-perspective structure to depict its historical trauma as carved into the body"
A Petal became the subject of much anticipation and debate for the simple reason that it was a full-fledged portrayal of the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement. That the movie could be made at all was a testament to the changing times. Intricately interlacing the perspectives of construction worker Jang, the ambiguously-identified "we" who search for the girl, and the girl herself, whose mind has come unhinged from the guilt of having abandoned her dying mother, the movie renders the young girl's pain into our own, and into that of Jang, an utterly unrelated stranger. This strategy reveals the feeling of psychological indebtedness experienced by intellectuals and other survivors who were not present at the Gwangju uprising. However, the girl cannot express her own pain through language because it has literally driven her insane. Instead, her emaciated body becomes a historical allegory of Gwangju, and history itself is manifested only through the horrifying physical trauma repeatedly inflicted upon her. Ultimately, her external wounds cannot be healed, nor is she able to communicate with "us." The movie's final scene, which attains closure through the voice-over narration of educated men, soothes the helpless psychological indebtedness of intellectuals and little else. Although such men professed discontent with the movie's nightmarish depiction of Gwangju in favor of a more rigorous exposition on the historical truth and circumstances of the uprising, director Jang Seon-woo observed that he sought to dissolve the clotted emotional scars of Gwangju through a more affective approach. This perspective is most effectively revealed in the cleansing ritual scene.

Afterword

- A Petal was adapted from Choi Yun's Silently, a Petal Falls.
- The movie included documentary footage filmed during the actual Gwangju uprising.

Director Bio: Jang Seon-woo (1952- )

As a film critic in the early 80s, he introduced realism in filmmaking by advocating "exciting camera," as well as "open movie." He co-produced Seoul Emperor (Seoul hwangje) in 1986 and made his directorial debut in 1988 with The Age of Success (Seong-gong sidae), initiating the New Wave in Korean cinema. Although his movies were variegated, - dealing with issues of sexuality, capitalism and history - because he showed an unhindered view of reality in his movies, he was always labeled as a realist. His most important works include A Short Love Affair (Umugbaemi-ui salang) (1990), The road to race track (Gyeongmajang ganeun gil) (1991), The Avatamska Sutra (Hwa-eomgyeong) (1993), To you from me (Neo-ege naleul bonaenda) (1994), A Petal (Kkoch-ip) (1996), and Lies (Geojismal) (1999).