It’s easy
to forget sometimes how rigid the rules can be concerning the technical aspects
behind the making of a film. When
done right, everything you see on screen (or hear) is exactly so for a
reason. The rich tapestry of
mise-en-scene (basically everything but the dialogue) captures our attention by
cleverly drawing us to certain pieces of information. Through cinematography, sound, production design, costumes,
and editing it seeks to tell us a story.
It is the difference between a novel, in which we must imagine all these
details, and a film, which seeks to show us a world conceived by its
filmmakers.
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| Beautiful, intimate framing |
If you take
the time to consider what shots are used in a film, you can see (most of the
time) a reason behind their selection.
These little parcels of visual information tell part of the narrative. There are many choices a director or
cinematographer can make when framing a shot and each of these decisions will
affect how the story is told. An
example of this is from what angle to frame a character: you can shoot from
above, from below, or straight on.
In Late Blossom, which features some exceptional photography, this
choice is an important one. It
says a lot about how the film views its characters, the majority of which are
senior citizens.
Shooting
from high up makes a person look smaller and can infer that he or she is timid,
lacking in confidence, or occupying a lower social strata. Conversely, low-angle shots make
characters look dominant, authoritative, or heroic. Late Blossom’s principal protagonists
are frequently filmed from low angles.
In this instance, the choice is a mark of respect, as the films seeks to
venerate its elderly characters.
Here, the formal structure of the film and its choices echoes the rigid
framework of a hierarchical society, although perhaps one that steadily shying
away from its outmoded confucian values.
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| Man-suk (Lee Soon-jae) shot from below |
At a time
for Korea when things are rapidly changing and its film industry manifests the
latest trends and embraces the newest fads, Late Blossom is something of an
anomaly. Its focus is on a way of
life that is being passed over for
globalized cosmopolitanism.
It is fixated on the present but only because it has allowed the past to
be forgottten. The characters who
we follow live in the world’s second largest metropolis, yet they seem alone
and abandonned. The
rapidly-evolving society which they inhabit no longer has any space for them, but
still they live on, foraging in the modern urban landscape.
Late
Blossom follows the lives of four elderly people in a rundown neighbourhood in
Seoul. Kim Man-suk (Lee Soon-jae)
delivers milk and crosses Ms. Song (Yoon So-jeong), who scrapes by by selling
scrap paper. They feel something
towards one another and gradually seek respite from the loneliness of their
lives. Meanwhile, Jang Kun-bong
(Sung Jae-ho) takes care of wife (Kim Soo-mi) who suffers from dementia.
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| Snow adds depth to some scenes |
Rather than
follow a plot-based path, the narrative invites us into the lives of its four
protagonists as they struggle to live in modern Seoul. The film is meditative, sweet, and
enormously rewarding. It is also
deceptively simple. One of those
examples of something that seems perfectly effortless while in actuality
demonstrating an enormous amount of skill, attention to detail, and artistry.
Aside from
visual metaphors (such as pathetic fallacy) and social awareness, Late Blossom succeeds
in the technical department. It features some of the most wonderful camerawork
I’ve seen all year. While the
lensing is clearly beautiful, it is also intelligent, each shot has a purpose
and advance our integration into the story. One particularly pleasing element of the cinematography were the scenes with snow. As the snowflakes drift across the urban landscape, those that come closest to camera float by as large out-of-focus white dots. It’s very engrossing and adds a huge amount of depth to the world we are invited to discover. You may also notice how some of the younger characters are framed looking down on the elders from a high vantage point, as if peering quizzically on those that have laid the foundation for their progress.
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| Younger characters look down on elders |
The film begins as we follow Man-suk on his scooter doing
his early morning routine. The
first time we see his face is from behind a gate. In effect we are spying on him. Their is a tacit acknowledgment, on the part of the
filmmakers, of the scopophilia that we the audience must naturally engage in as
we invade the private lives of the protagonists. Rather than immediately launch into close-ups, for a long
time we see everything that unfolds from a distance. The effect of peering in is reinforced by the landscape of
the neighbourhood. The
composition of the shots reflects the sinuous roads and paths as they wind
their way up and down hills. This
style of shooting becomes very intimate when we follow the characters through
the ordered chaos of their local society. The location is very much a part of
the story, it is omnipresent as Man-suk and Ms. Song make their living
traveling its streets.
Many themes
are explored during the film, mostly examing how society ha changed in its
treatment of elders. In one
sequence, Song visits the civic office where Man-suk’s daughter works to
register for an identity. She is
excessively grateful and obsequious in towards its young employees, a reminder
of a bygone era when an autocratic administration ruled with an iron fist. Conversely, the youthful staff are
pleasantly surprised to be treated so respectfully and reciprocate by expediting
her needs. While this may be a
sign of positive change, representing the evolution of authority in modern
Korea, it also alludes to the fact that people are often less than gracious
when dealing with civil matters in modern society. You may also notice certain compositions in the film which place younger characters looking down on the elder protagonists from higher vantage points. They have moved forward, or up, with time and peer down almost quizzically at those who paved the way for them. What is the difference between respecting authority and
respecting your elders?
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| Kun-bong and his wife, Man-suk and Ms. Song look on |
The anchor
of the film is its great lead performers.
Lee Soon-jae, Yoon So-jeong, Sung Jae-ho, and Kim Soo-mi are all fantastic. It is impossible not to feel all their
joy, disappointment, and heartache.
It is as if it were your own.
I was completely taken in by Late Blossom, especially by it’s fantastic
leads, involving mise-en-scene, and infectious sweetness. All but the coldest hearts will be
melted by it.
Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema. For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (GMT+1).To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
