1996 | 107 MIN | DRAMA, FAMILY

DIRECTOR IM Kwon-taek

CAST AHN Sung-ki, OH Jung-hae, HAN Eun-jin, CHUNG Kyung-soon

RELEASE DATE June 6, 1996

CONTACT Korean Film Archive

Tel +82 2 3153 2001

Fax +82 2 3153 2080

Email kofa@koreafilm.or.kr

With 103 films to his name, along with 47 awards and 33 nominations, IM Kwon-taek is one of South Korea’s most renowned directors. His 96th project, “Festival”, won Best Film and Best Director at the 17th Blue Dragon Film Awards, among other honours. Thirty years later, it was screened at the Busan International Film Festival as part of a special programme organised with the Korean Film Archive to honour the life and career of the late AHN Sung-ki.

Based on the novel of the same name by LEE Cheong-jun, the story follows renowned writer LEE Joon-seop (AHN Sung-ki), who returns to his hometown with his wife and daughter for his mother’s (HAN Eun-jin) funeral. As the traditional rites unfold, old conflicts resurface, revealing the family’s complicated history and the tensions among its members.

Starting with off-screen narration by Joon-seop, which is later replaced by his daughter’s voice, the story is easy to follow, as on-screen titles mark the different stages of the funeral ceremony, providing a clear narrative structure. IM makes use of flashbacks to reveal the family matriarch’s difficult life, as well as the problems she caused her loved ones in her old age. Despite its serious subject, “Festival” has moments of humour, with one particularly memorable scene in which the granddaughter whimsically asks, “Is Grandma dead again?” Alongside the events of the funeral, another timeline unfolds, which gives the impression of a memory intertwined with a fairy tale. This engaging mixture gives the whole film an ambiguous, bittersweet feel.

Much of the family’s history and its complicated relationships emerge through conversations between the characters, each of whom copes with loss in their own way. They also have specific roles to fulfil, but not everyone is on the same page when it comes to tradition. The character of a journalist (CHUNG Kyung-soon), who is at risk of losing her job if she fails to write a piece about Joon-seop, serves as a natural narrative device, introducing details about the writer and his family through interviews with people attending the funeral. With so many characters on screen, few are developed in depth, leaving limited room for the actors to shine. However, this did not prevent AHN Sung-ki from receiving two awards, for Best Actor at the Korean Association of Film Critics and Best Actor of the Year at the Cine21 Film Awards, nor CHUNG Kyung-soon from earning a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

The naturalistic, understated cinematography by PARK Seung-bae, supported by the sparse use of music by KIM Soo-chul, allows the viewer to focus on the story. What is more, this audiovisual approach, where the camera serves as yet another participant at the event, lets the viewer fully appreciate the detailed portrayal of traditional Korean funeral rites, which, as the characters in the film mention, have changed over the years (much to their dissatisfaction).

“Festival” is one of many movies in which IM explores the cultural heritage of his homeland. For example, “Seopyeonje” (1993) highlights the traditional musical form of pansori, and “Chihwaseon” (2002) centres on the art of painting. In this case, his focus is on traditional funeral rites, which serve as the starting point for a meditation on death and the influence of past generations on the lives of subsequent ones, a theme underlined by the fact that he dedicated the filmto his mother. Exploring ageing, family relationships, and fading traditions, “Festival” offers a thoughtful portrait of a family confronting its past while continuing the cycle of life, with several references to Korea’s tragic history, such as mentions of the Japanese Occupation or the Korean War.

Written by Tobiasz Dunin
Edited by KOFIC