By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Kang Yi-kwan
Starring: eo Young-ju | Gang Hyeok-il | Gang Rae-yeon | Jeon Ye-jin | Jeong Seok-yong | Lee Jeong-hyeon
Original language title: Beom-joe-so-nyeon
Country: south_korea
Year: 2013
Running time: 107
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2292676/combined
Kyle says: “The North American Premiere of JUVENILE OFFENDER provided one of the surprisingly touching experiences of the New York Asian Film Festival. It is a deceptively simple but emotionally resonant story about a teenage boy without family tending toward the sort of behavior that will land him in and out of juvenile detention facilities for the foreseeable future. This boy Ji-gu, played with preternatural assurance by young actor Seo Young-ju, lives with his dying diabetic grandfather, while spending time with his young girlfriend and his fellow juvenile delinquent friends, who regularly commit petty crimes such as burglary and find themselves permanent residents of the Korean justice system. He is released into the care of the mother (Lee Jeong-hyeon, Korea’s ‘Techno Queen’ and popular actress/singer) he has never met, who gave birth to him as the result of a casual encounter when she was the same age as her son. She is herself barely removed from childhood, a rootless young woman trying to get her bearings and using up favors from the few friends she has not alienated, no more capable of looking after a child than she is herself.
“Mother and son evolve a troubled relationship that is as much about engaging with as avoiding each other. He has expectations that life with improve now that the mother he thought dead actually exists, while she is unable to conceal her sudden confusion about taking care of a 16-year-old son. As she struggles to look after him, he becomes as much her caretaker as her child, raising the inevitable questions about who is the parent and who the child in this tentative bonding. These issues are further complicated when Ji-gu’s girlfriend becomes pregnant, gives away the child, and refuses to have anything to do with him. Hoping to find compassion in sharing this news with his mother, he is again disappointed to discover that she is appalled and disgusted by his behavior, setting the pathetic cycle in motion all over again.
“Set in an alienating wintertime Seoul, in and out of tiny apartments and fast food hangouts, the outstanding direction of Kang Yi-kwan delicately sounds the right behavioral notes in a relationship between two lonely young people who happen to be mother and son. Wisely the film ends without resolution, leaving us in hope as well as dread of the future of these two characters. The elegantly simple music score which contributes strongly to the high quality of this film features piano, guitar, drums, violin, viola, cello and various songs. Among other well -deserved awards, Seo Young-ju (who was 14 during filming) received the Best Actor Award and director Kang Yi-kwan a Special Jury Prize at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. 5 cats
“Seen Friday, July 5, 2013, New York Asian Film Festival at the Walter Reade Theater, Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York.”