Movie Digest
The plot revolves around the life of a man who served his career as an art teacher at the school and later upon retirement expresses his desire to go to France and live life as a painter. It’s been his father’s lifelong dream to live as an artist in the city of Montmartre in France and create art for art’s sake. The story revolves around how the family comes to terms with the patriarch’s desire to relocate and their own conservative Asian values.
The Feel-Good Part
This movie explores the genre of a slice of life in a very intrinsic and soulful manner. The story on the surface seems like the normal ‘wanting to relocate and rebel for that cause’ but it shines through with the excellent storytelling that the director adopts, showing the viewers why this step was such a big one in the context of a small middle-income Korean family. It explores how a patriarch is breaking the norm of living an inconsequential life in retirement and choosing the life of striving to be an artist in France and fulfilling his personal goals.
The Disappointing Factor
The movie rarely has any scenes to make one feel disappointed, however, it may come across as a bit slower than the usual slice of life film genre mainly because this is a documentary. If any con one might want to point out it would be the length of the movie but the visuals and soundtrack make up for its fallacy perfectly fine.
In-Depth Analysis
Min Byung Woo’s depiction of the relationship between his father and his love for art in this documentary is very moving. As a director and the son of the father portrayed in the film Min’s narration of the story is not one of anger or dissociation or feeling abandoned by his father rather, he is looking at his father’s decision through a curious lens, and his storytelling does exactly that. We begin to look at the father’s motives with more and more acceptance throughout the film. His wife’s reservations about him moving abroad mirror the hesitance that comes with change, the idea of losing stability in the household is relatable, together however this husband-wife duo does makeup to be a comedic pair with their exchanges. Min’s mother tries to make sense of her husband’s absurd wishes and in the due course follows him to France. She tries to understand the complexity of art and why her husband is drawn to it so much. The playful and sarcastic exchanges make this film an extremely engaging watch.
Star Power
The star of this film is Min Byung Woo’s parents themselves. The documentary was directed by Min casting his parents as the main characters.
Overall Opinion
The movie is extremely good to sit down and watch with your family over the weekend for some light-hearted activity. It places the importance on following through with one’s dreams and the viewers are compelled to think about their own lives in a very soulful and beautiful manner. Even If this genre is not something you’d usually watch it would be recommended to watch it just for its eye-soothing and pleasant visuals.
