Reborn and Hope

                                                 Reborn and Hope                         Yu-Han (Frank) Chang

Hope- Something that I thought was clearly established and contrasted between Kim’s present time and Jang’s past. The establishing scene for Kim’s plot centered on a mass movement with vivid colours and loud noises. Regardless of the common dissatisfactory mood in a demonstration, the scene was more or less filled with energy, strong sense of belief (their belief) and positivity. Conversely, the establishing scene for Jang’s plot was a black and white and silent close-up caption of Jang about to commit self-immolation. Coupled with the silencing effect, it provided a strong sense of repression and most importantly, desperation. It was as if he had not other alternatives but to light himself on fire as the last attempt. Furthermore, the black and white was not just a tool to hint the switching back and forth between the flashbacks and Kim’s presence but a clear distinction that could easily be associated to numerous negative implications- depression, sadness, hopelessness...etc. Personally, I felt the establishing scenes were extremely effective before any narratives in directing how we felt and emotionally approached each of the two plotlines right from the start.

Reborn- It caught my eyes that in the midst of everything repressing happening in the film, the mentioning of Kim and his wife’s still to be born child was always a sudden point of release temporarily away from the tension and dark clouds glooming over our heads. In fact, the wife’s laugh about the baby’s ten little fingers was the only “happy” moment in the entire film.  Similar to what Kim Kyung Hyun mentioned in Post –Trauma and Historical Remembrance in A Single Spark and A Petal, the baby was a symbol of hope. It is the hope in the generation to come.  This idea of future generation was again reinforced when Kim encountered the umbrella boy in the rain later in the film. For one moment, I thought “Jang has been reborn”. Although the age did not really match up so nicely (9 years old rather than 5), there was a very clear and intentional resemblance seeding the idea of reborn. The hope in reborn and future generation were then finally fulfilled at the end when Kim revisited the market place and a boy looking just like Jang was now carrying the published biography in his hand. Shooting from Kim’s perspective, there was a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in final touch of this film.

In a way, I thought both themes were somehow tied up together quite nicely. The historical labour movements represented by the nation hero, Jang, fought and sacrificed for the democracy and civil society in which the future generations enjoy presently. One thing I was suspicious of was the idea of fire. Fire is associated with reborn in many different cultures. I was wondering if it would be applicable in the Korean context? If it does, it would add another layer of depth interconnecting the ideas above into one overarching theme. In fact, how the final shot of Jang on fire running towards the camera initially in slow motion and eventually frozen in “colour” turned Jang and the fire along with the law book into something symbolic. What could be the meaning of this?