Younger Grownup Issues (어른들은 몰라요, Eoleundeuleun Mollayo)
Director: Lee Hwan
Written by: Lee Hwan
Yr: 2020
Nation: South Korea
Overview by visitor writer Abigail Lee
Vibrant and candy-coloured, gently subtle delicate pores and skin on a leafy backdrop are all issues one would come to anticipate from Korean dramas and cookie-cutter pop music movies.
Director Lee Hwan takes this notion and runs in the wrong way.
Because the title suggests, Younger Grownup Issues is a coming-of-age teen drama — delving into the lives of South Korean teen delinquents from the standpoint of a younger woman attempting to do away with her undesirable being pregnant. It grapples with the concept of maturity being thrust upon youngsters within the face of a society that doesn’t serve to guard however to dictate, leaving them to outlive alone in the event that they fail to suit the shiny customary the adults anticipate of them.
Sejin (Lee Yoomi), is parentless, suicidal, and viciously bullied, accepting every slap within the face with an earnest grin. Dropping out and becoming a member of a troupe of delinquents after getting down to discover a technique to get an abortion in conservative South Korea, Sejin willingly places herself and her associates on the road, partaking in underage prostitution and stealing to maintain themselves alive and nearer (financially, at the least) to the holy grail, the elusive abortion.
All through the movie, there’s a desecration of the concept of our bodies as temples — our bodies are handled as a method to an finish. Sejin makes use of her physique as only a vessel, an instrument of delight, then momentary housing for the newborn she doesn’t need, and concurrently, a vessel by which she will make the mandatory cash to get the abortion process performed. This concept is proposed alongside that of a nationwide indifference in the direction of the Korean youth; what are the youngsters price, if they’re persecuted for taking excessive measures to resolve the problems (corresponding to Sejin’s undesirable being pregnant, in addition to her troupe’s collective homelessness and lack of a household) that they don’t obtain help for. Parallel this negligence in the direction of our bodies as an idea with the negligence proven in the direction of children like Sejin, and therein lies a suggestion of a critique towards a hypocritical society that glosses over the very grownup points that youngsters face whereas demanding an unequivocal adherence to the very Christian-influenced and really conservative mould set out for them.
Regardless of the political overtones of the movie, the movie’s strengths lie within the real portrayal of juvenile loyalty. Sejin’s sister is quietly fixed, whereas she cruises the roads at midnight with an intensely ride-or-die crew. Whereas all of the performances supplied by the solid had been unimaginable, Lee Yoomi and Ahn Heeyeon’s chemistry is unmistakably palpable, within the roles of Sejin and Jooyoung (her sudden drifter companion) respectively. The movie doesn’t shrink back from depictions of violence and self-destructive tendencies, and the solid performs it straight, enacting violence towards one another and their very own our bodies seamlessly. In lots of instances, the place such performances can come off as overly contrived, they bring about actuality and rawness to the desk, grounding the movie with their portrayals of guilelessly rabid need to search out happiness.
One problem I really feel should be talked about is the tough execution of the plot, which feels just a little bit incomplete in areas. The movie provides no context as regards to relationships, corresponding to Sejin’s relationship together with her child daddy and exposition pertaining to the precise nature of her household scenario. The premise itself is comprehensible and easy, however how the occasions main to 1 one other feels uneven and unprompted, and since Sejin appears so apathetic and so non sequitur, segments of the movie (and most troublingly, the being pregnant) appear arbitrary and simply avoidable.
Releasing a movie like this in 2020 feels particularly poignant, with South Korea’s reputation making its meteoric entrance into the popular culture consciousness with the success of its shiny, youth-driven exports. With South Korea rising extra well-liked as a dream vacation spot, and a romanticised place and tradition by many a younger teen on Twitter, Lee Hwan takes his time to knock that visage down, juxtaposing Sejin’s wide-eyed naivete with the very actual and bureaucratic trauma she finds herself dealing with consistently. Whereas the movie left some to be desired by way of pacing, the tip product is turbulent sufficient to empty you out slowly, which by itself sounds terribly miserable, so I’ll evaluate it to a sea salt purge. Whereas this movie is usually a powerful watch, the afterglow is soothing. Following a younger woman by the wringer of being pregnant and out the opposite finish alone however free, the conclusion of the movie is ambiguous on the very least, and therapeutic at its finest.
