Hana Korea

CalvinLaw4.0

Pachinko star Kim Minha is phenomenal in Frederik Sølberg’s portrait of Hyesun, a North Korean refugee assimilating to new life and grappling with her past. Her hardships and hopes detailed with such an empathetic approach that outside of some slightly too melodramatic touches towards the end, pays such potent dividends. Well worth watching particularly for its leading turn.Longer review incoming.

smallclone4.0

This is a very lovely film. It's a drama about a young woman who defects from North Korea to South Korea via China. Apparently there are about 250 people who do this every year. Before the pandemic there was about 1500 annually. They do it for obvious reasons and with the hope of sending money back to their family.We follow Hye Seon (very well played by Kim Min-ha) as she is detained at what effectively is a migrant centre and then processed out into the wider community. The strength of this film isn’t focusing on political narratives or daring escapes from North Korea. It concentrates on the difficulties of assimilation. The headaches of navigating new, modern worlds. In one scene we are shown the new arrivals being taught how to use credit cards, and in another how they struggle to use a ticketing system to catch a train.It’s a Danish/Korean production directed by Frederik Sølberg and written by Sharon Choi. At times I was reminded a little of 2017’s ‘Microhabitat’ with some of the images (beautifully shot by Stephanie Stål Axelgård) echoing the film ‘Columbus’ by Kogonada,It is a film that some people will describe as slow. And the first half is, but deliberately so, as the monotony of the laws, rules and regimentation of accepting defectors from the North come into play. But there’s a sublot which develops, maybe predictably, into a moving finale that is very tenderly and sensitively directed.One of the year’s best.

svanefar3.5

Med min trofaste svane stok og knock-off Tom Ford solbriller, træder jeg med et selvsikkert smil på læben ind i sal 2. For jeg ved jeg skal til at opnå mit største mål i livet. Efter et år og trehundredefireogtreds dage som piccolo i Grand teatret, cementerer jeg mig nu som den person med flest dokumenteret film set i Grand og Gloria sammenlagt. Skud ud til hver eneste person nogensinde.