RETURN TO SEOUL

Korea/France, 2022, 119 minutes, Colour.

Park Ji-min, Oh Kwang-rok, Guka Han, Kim Su-young, Yoann Zimmer, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing,Son Seung-Beom.

Directed by Davy Chou.  

The basic plot for this French film can be outlined as a young Korean woman, an adoptee in France, comes to Korea and discovers more of her identity. But, in fact, this could be misleading. It is not a simple story.

The film opens in Korea, at a guesthouse, the young woman, Freddie (Park Ji-min) books in for a two-week stay. She is welcomed, she has arrived in Korea only because her flight to Japan was cancelled, not really in search of her identity. She speaks French and English, not Korean – and behaves in quite extravagant, even alienating, bizarrely French, sexual.

But, the host of the guesthouse does mention the Hammond organisation in Korea for finding birth parents. Freddie does follow through, is confrontative to the authorities but, fortunately, has a code number which leads to a very quick identification. She visits the family, seems a bit alienated from them, but the family happy to see her, especially her father who explains how he was young, that her mother wanted to live in the city, not on the fishing village, and the wants to keep in contact with her.

In fact, the screenplay does not go as we might have thought or even hoped. Her father makes contact – Freddie doesn’t. He drinks, becomes rather desperate, some stalking of her. But she seems to have a good relationship with her French adoptive parents, but also treats them in her rather self-centred offhand way.

Then, suddenly we move five years ahead, Freddie in a relationship, visiting Korea, in a liaison with a businessman involved in the missile industry. And, even at this stage, visiting her father yet even resisting him. She still does not speak Korean but is helped by her aunt, English into Korean. The audience is still rather alienated from Freddie. But, she is in relationships, is successful in business.

Then another sudden jump of two years, Hammond having contacted her birth mother, and a final consent, a meeting which is the culmination of Freddie’s mixed national identity, and need for finding her mother, and the audience in hope for her future.

1. Korean-French production, Korean identity?
2. The title and tone, the story of an adoptee, growing up in friends, the chance returning to Korea for two weeks, the consequences?
3. But Freddie The Korean locations, the city of Seoul, guest houses, interiors, restaurants and bars, the contrast with the streets, the highways, cities outside the capital, family gatherings? The contrast with the business world? The musical score? The range of songs, Freddie and performance?
4. The structure of the film, the focus on Freddie’s visit to Seoul, the events, meetings, the transition to 5 years later, the changes in Freddie, her job, behaviour, relationships, the transition to 2 years later, her life, meeting her mother?
5. The use of close-ups throughout the film, faces, expressions, lack of expression, silence?
6. Freddie at the guesthouse, Tina and the music, Freddie wanting to listen? Tina befriending Freddie, the young men, speaking French, Freddie not speaking Korean, the issue of communications throughout the film? At the bar, Freddie’s behaviour, getting the group together, the drinking, the music, her being outlandish, the night with the young man, the sexual encounter?
7. The initial audience impression of Freddie, is a person, her age, hearing her story of adoption, brought up in France, contact with her parents, the phone call to her mother? Yet and alienating person to those she met, alienating the audience?
8. Tina and the suggestion to contact Hammond, the agency concerning adoptees, Freddie’s visit, the difficulties with documents, the photo with the number, finding the file, making the contact with the father, with the mother? The regulations and time limits?
9. Freddie going with Tina to meet her father, the whole family, his story, young, the mother, not wanting contact, the difficulties of bringing up the daughter, her father living with his mother, the mother present at the meeting, the aunt translating, other members of the family? The use of English, the aunt translating? The effect on Freddie, the effect on the father, the rest of the family, the daughters and the video of their dancing, photo opportunities? The father taking her to the Bay, talking about his life in the tradition of fishing?
10. Freddie’s reaction, hostile, Tina and her criticism, Freddie going out on the town? The young man pleading with her to stay, her stubborn and offhand reactions? Ignoring her father’s texts, his drinking, confronting her in the city? Her disdain?
11. After five years, Freddie and the contact with Andre, the weapons company, her becoming involved, the relationship? Meeting her family again, her father drinking less, his seeming better, her aunt translating, the effect on her? And her still alienating behaviour, her moods, alone, returning to the apartment, the young man and the art, going out, socialising?
12. The transition to 2 years later, her work with the company, the relationship with Maxime, still difficult in terms of her relationships? The news about her mother, going to the office, the young assistant, the regulations about contacting the mother, her arrival, briefing, bring her in?
13. The final scene, the mother coming in, touching her daughter, the embrace, the focus on the mother, the focus on Freddie? And her life after this?