A Single Spark recounts the story of a social martyr, Jeong Tae-il, but underneath the historical, biographical details of his life, it also tells the story of the person who is writing his story, Professor Kim. Throughout the film, our attention is constantly trobbing back and forth within a range of 5 years (1970-75), containing the memories of Jeon Tae-il's journey as an agent of change and Professor Kim's secretive writing project, which eventually affected his own personal life.
The transition of scenes from the past to the present is marked by the change of color, despite the unchanged setting and frame. It leads me to think that the significance of the colors is to make the audience realize that the past wasn't that far away. The choice of using black and white film to represent moments that happened five years ago challenges our concept of time. In a way, it could also be a way for the director to build the character of Jeon as a hero of the past, not the present. Yet, the parallels constructed between Professor Kim and Jeon Tae-il reveal that there may exist a similar hero in the present, even if their sacrifice wasn't as extreme as Jeon's self-immolation. The segments of Jeon's life and Professor Kim's life are carefully constructed so that the elements of the plot and their emotions would match, revealing the parallels between the two, despite a difference in time.
With that in mind, the film seems to suggest a not-yet-ended battle between government establishments and the larger society (educated or not) towards improving human rights laws.
No comments:
Post a Comment