Single Spark of Realism

This biopic a single spark about is about the man who lit himself on fire to allow issues concerning labour laws to be made public. It seems like that in harsh times such as these where the amount of people affected by poverty was in the millions. It really gave me an idea of what life would be like in a non-democratic society. It was shocking how the factory workers were mistreated on a daily basis and that the government was ignoring the pleas of the workers. It’s a type of film that makes you feel sick that humanity could be so awful but also the kind that you feel that one needs to watch to be educated on. 

I really enjoyed how the director used the technique of flashbacks throughout the film, as it gave us an inside scope to the narrator’s mind. Feeling that much closer to the action allows viewers like me to fully understand the message that Park Kwang Su wanted to deliver. Through some research I found that he makes movies about certain ideologies whether it be about the less unfortunate or the working class man. This reminds me of my Italian neorealism class; where we learnt about the day-to-day lifestyles of lower status citizens of Italy. I find realism films to be the most interesting as they are based on truth whereas most films suture you into their imaginary film world.

My enjoyment of the movie was also paralleled with my confusion. Who was the narrator? Was it the man with the glasses who was on the run or was it tae II himself? As well as some flashbacks were in black in white while the rest of the film was in color. Which did indicate past and present time; except who’s flashbacks were they?