[K-Movie Night] More Than Family

by Dramaddictally

Welcome to K-Movie Night — a once-a-month feature where we microwave some popcorn, put on a face mask, and get cozy with a Korean movie from yesteryear. With so many films finally streaming (with subs!), now is the time to get caught up on all those movies we missed featuring our favorite drama actors.

Each month, we’ll pick a flick, write a review, and meet you back here to discuss whether or not it’s worth a watch. Super simple. All you have to do is kick up your feet and join us in the comments!

 
MOVIE REVIEW

Since May is Family Month in Korea (with the celebration of Parents’ Day and Children’s Day), it seemed like a good reason to sit down with a movie about, well, family. And while I already had these holidays on my mind, I can’t hide the fact that watching Doctor Cha these past few weeks has me thinking a lot about moms, kids, and especially estranged dads.

That’s where the little movie More Than Family fits in. Premiering in 2020 at the Busan International Film Festival, the movie mostly flew under the radar, but was lauded for its cinematography and female lead, who received three Best New Actress nominations. Since I love giving independent films a chance (especially ones by female writer/directors), I decided this was the perfect way to spend my K-Movie Night. So, without further ado, let’s talk about screwed-up families!

I’m kidding of course. The theme at the heart of this movie is that there’s no correct way to define family, and families can take lots of shapes and forms. At the epicenter is our heroine, KIM TO-IL (Krystal), who’s a pregnant college student with a boyfriend who’s still in high school. How’s that for a messy setup? To-il decides that the best course of action is to have her baby and marry her boyfriend — though her parents are not initially on board with this idea, even after seeing her carefully made PowerPoint presentation.

The thing about To-il is that she’s smart — smarter than she seems when you read the above paragraph — but she’s got some emotional sorting out to do when it comes to her dad. We learn pretty quickly that To-il (named for Saturday and Sunday, because she was born between them) is not happy at home, even though, outwardly, they look like a cookie-cutter happy family.

She lives with her mom (Jang Hye-jin) and step-dad (Choi Deok-moon), whom I’ll call Dad #2, and doesn’t remember her biological father (Lee Hae-young), a.k.a. Dad #1. Her parents divorced when she was young and she’s had no contact with Dad #1 in more than a decade — and this is what’s causing all her hidden upset. Now that she’s pregnant and planning to marry, she decides it’s high time to find Dad #1.

We get this setup in ten minutes and, from there, the first half of the movie is structured as a journey, almost Odyssey-like, as To-il goes to Daegu in search of her biological father with little information about him. We see her make various stops, meeting men with the same name as Dad #1, but all are botched encounters and none are her father.

Interestingly, the story is told from two perspectives. To-il’s journey is one side, but we also get a counter-narrative from the perspective of her mom and step-dad. First, we see that they have a pretty solid relationship and seem genuinely content together, and second, we see that Dad #2 has been trying hard to win over To-il since the day they met.

The problem is that To-il has a different concept about what it means to be family, and hasn’t ever accepted him as a part of hers. The movie makes the point that her view is also cultural. Divorce — and the kids of divorced parents — are looked down on, and To-il has always hid her mom’s remarriage from her classmates. In fact, the reason they moved to Seoul was to escape the gossip and bullying the family might face if they stayed where her remarriage was known.

It’s a deceptively simple movie but there are actually a couple of different journeys going on simultaneously. On one hand, we have the physical journey as a 5-month’s pregnant To-il makes her way around Daegu. And on the other hand, we have her emotional journey as she thinks back to moments in her past that include Dad #2. We see her views start to shift as she realizes that Dad #2 is the one who’s been there for her and helped her become the person she is. She’s grappling with the idea that maybe “family” (in the traditional sense) isn’t that important, while also having a desperate desire to know her birth father.

But when she finally stumbles onto Dad #1, she loses her desire. Instead, she yells at him, doesn’t let him say a word, and goes home to the parents who raised her. At this point, we’re only halfway through the movie and the story turns its focus on a different dad altogether: To-il’s boyfriend, JANG HO-HOON (Shin Jae-hwi). He’s gone missing for a few days and everyone starts to worry that he’s skipping out on To-il and the baby.

If the first half of the movie is structured as a quest to find Dad #1, the second half is really a quest to find family, in all its senses. After some haphazard attempts at comedy, we learn that Ho-hoon is not trying to ditch To-il, he’s just a little dimwitted and didn’t realize anyone was looking for him. But not being able to reach him sets off a crisis in To-il: she’s scared that Ho-hoon will abandon her, just like Dad #1.

With this fear unearthed, To-il decides to call off her engagement to Ho-hoon, not wanting to make the mistake her mother did by entering into a marriage that might end in divorce. This prompts all the parents (his and hers) to start freaking out over what they believe is a rash decision (now that To-il’s parents have accepted the pregnancy). But To-il, who prides herself on being smart, believes that there’s a “right decision” to be made and that she should be able to figure out the answer before committing herself.

Of course, it’s not about being smart; some things in life just can’t be predicted. In the film’s most heartfelt moment, To-il asks her mom, “Do I have to experience it to know the answer?” And her mom tells her that she doesn’t regret marrying Dad #1 because she got to meet To-il. For her part, To-il decides it wouldn’t be so bad to end up happily coupled like her mom, even if it means she has to make some missteps along the way. It’s in these final scenes that I get the feeling To-il’s journey is really just beginning.

This is a choppy movie that I don’t think will be for everyone, but it has enough charming moments that I was left with a warm impression. One highlight is the cinematography, which combines a realistic filming style with a washed-out palette, making everything look a little run-down, even the people. This worked to really ground the film in everyday life, and Krystal pulls off this character precisely for how “normal” she allows herself to look here. She’s believably pregnant, even if the rest of the performance could use a little bump. Although, I think the flatness is partially a problem of the script, which struggles to balance dramatic themes with a light and humorous tone.

The real selling point of the movie is its deep dive into what defines a family. It’s a story about growing up, finding home, and recognizing the people that matter most. And I think the messiness of its execution actually adds to its charms — because messiness is exactly the film’s point: Nothing is perfect. People make mistakes. And sometimes the best laid plans (even in PowerPoint) just don’t work out. For me, the heroine’s journey to redefine her own family was worth the watch because, in a way, she’s standing up for messy families everywhere.

Join me in June for the next K-Movie Night and let’s make a party of it! I’ll be watching Midnight Runners (2017) and posting the review during the last week of the month.

Want to participate in the comments when it posts? You’ve got 3 weeks to watch! Rather wait for the review before you decide to stream it? I’ve got you covered.

 
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