Movie Review: Terrific ‘Return To Seoul Follows Adoptee's Search For Roots In A Place She Never Knew

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9 Mar, 2023

Movie Review: Terrific ‘Return To Seoul Follows Adoptee's Search For Roots In A Place She Never Knew

The question is quite simple. - How long do you want to stay? asks Freddie, a hotel worker, about a 25-year-old Frenchman of Korean descent at the beginning of the simple epic "Back to Seoul." He says I'm not sure. Maybe two weeks.

Named Frédéric by his French adoptive parents, Freddie, played by Park Ji Min in his memorable debut, has more or less returned to Korea. In his 8 years of history, writer-director Davey Chu never seems to direct or position Freddy's next move, hair change, or emotional mindset. In contrast, Back to Seoul plays like one of those rare films where every minute feels thoughtful and thoughtful, without a clear emotional essence.

It is aptly called an adoption story. With a quick flirt with Sanyo (Guka Han), a hotel employee his age, it becomes clear that Freddy has quiet friendships and is often fleeting, an easygoing and accommodating demeanor that masks his threatening demeanor. . Questions about Freddie's biological parents, whom he had not known since the first months of his life, finally resurface amid the involvement of new friends in Seoul's nightlife.

Freddie contacted an adoption agency in Seoul to inquire about parents who intended to adopt him. He finds out that her birth name is Yoon Hee, which means "obedient and happy". The slowly developing hesitant smile with which this cool and reserved woman fleshed out this information. In Return to Seoul, Chu reveals every genuine and authentic performance in the film's key scenes.

In a sense, Chu's film, his second feature, is procedural. Freddie and the public know that he will have to contact his birth parents individually through an agency and wait to hear if they agree to visit. Without giving away too much (the story never hinges on twists or surprises), Freddy hears from his father (Oh Kwang Rok, veteran of many films, Park Chan Wook). Like his newborn daughter, he drank too much; He now lives with his wife and children who suffer from heart disease. Now, if Freddie ended the relationship, his heart would break even more. Freddie doesn't speak Korean; He is French despite his father's wishes.

All this time, for years, Freddie's wait to meet his birth mother was like a fond memory. Communication in this story is not easy; While visiting his father, Aunt Freddie explains the pain his father wanted to express. Freddie's friend from Seoul also did everything to give some brave Freddie fans Korean decorations and fame for the trip. tradition

This is a beautifully shot film filled with nighttime images of Seoul and the beaches of South Korea that we rarely see on screen. Mutable cinematographer Thomas Favel portrays Freddy not as a glamorous script but as a moving, charismatic figure, wreaking havoc wherever he goes. In Back to Seoul, he returns to Seoul three times and somehow changes his appearance again, giving up alcohol and red meat, and becoming an international arms dealer. . (The recruiter, a Frenchman he meets in Seoul on the second of his three return days, is played by Louis-Do de Lenkeseng.)

That's what makes 'Return to Seoul' so much richer than your typical drama 'The Trouble': it sees Freddy not as a problem to be solved, but as a life to be pursued. What begins as two weeks in another town Freddy never knows the past, serves as a constant reminder that life has feelings, desires, relationships that are impossible, but are definitely unknown and dangerous.

Director Choo, who worked closely with Park Chi-min during script development, was born in France to Cambodian parents. According to him, his relationship with his parents' homeland is "similar to Freddy's relationship with South Korea at the start of the film". "He questioned my right to tell this story," said Chu. Don't. Perhaps it was from this place of doubt that his attention had brought him, and the persistent unexpected details of "back to Seoul" were all over the place.

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"Back to Seoul"

MPAA Rating: R (for mild drug use, nudity, and profanity)

3.5 stars (out of 4)

Duration: 1:58

How to watch: In theaters now

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