By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Anthony Shim
Starring: Anthony Shim | Choi Seung-yoon | Dohyun Noel Hwang | Ethan Hwang | Hunter Dillon
Year: 2023
Running time: 117
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13456340/reference/
Michael says: “Even though I wasn’t able to catch the IFFBoston’s much lauded closing night film, I ended my festival experience the night before with a very strong showing. This powerful tale of a Korean immigrant who comes to Canada as a single mother with her young son is a real, authentic tear-jerke, a genre I haven’t really seen in a while. It’s not maudlin, or mawkish, but rather illuminating in the way it portrays a women fiercely protective of her son, and the strong bond between them, even as adolescence and the casual racism of their surroundings try to pull them apart.
“Writer/director Anthony Shim really knows how to tug on your heartstrings, while being careful not to come across as emotionally manipulative. From the tragic set-up that propels So-Young from her home country to Canada, to the heart-breaking scenes of simple prejudice battering both mother and 6-year-old Dong-Hyun in the first third of the film, then the bulk of the story where the hits keep coming in the 90’s. Through it all the connection between mother and son is supremely evident, and Shim gets able assistance from Choi Seung-yoon, in her first feature film, and both actors who play Dong-Hyun, the adorable Suhyun Noel Hwang who plays the boy as a child, and Ethan Hwang who captures the angsty drama of adolescence beautifully. Shim himself appears in a small supporting role as So-young’s suitor, in an understated, kind role. If there is one criticism I would make, it’s not terribly surprising, the score was a tiny bit heavy-handed. Not nearly as bad as many dramas, but just enough to occasionally be distracting. 4 cats”
Brett says: “The film RICEBOY SLEEPS begins with voiceover narration that summarizes the cause-effect trajectory of a mother and son’s journey to Canada from Korea. But, from that point, the film does not return to this plot device. It supposes that this introductory short narrative gives an audience reason enough to be fully invested in the sudden displacement despite just telling the audience they need to immediately feel something rather than experience any of it. Instead, we are plunged into the first-day-of-school experience right on the heels of this introductory voiceover. For some, that may be enough, but for others, this can seem a little heavy-handed. It’s not that other films haven’t done the same, so it’s not a blanket case of being an underdeveloped narrative exposition, but this particular case may seem a more tired effort to some than other successful attempts at this type of preliminary backstory.
“This sets the stage for most of the opportunity for criticism throughout the film. The film features layers of episodic incidents rather than deep dives into the development of mother and son. For some, this kind of glossing can be effective, but for this reviewer, while the topic of the challenges of starting a new life in a new culture is an important one, it just feels very played-out unless there is a fresh angle or a unique directorial tilt to it. A lot of what transpires just seems like standard fare with a lot of tired tropes taken right off the buffet line to assist the dramatic build. The narrative chapters take a lot of leaps that almost seem like multiple directors may have taken turns at an anthology based on a shared theme. It’s not quite that badly disjointed, but there are definitely noticeable terraces in overall tone and character-shifting at various points.
“Despite the focus above on the film’s standout shortcomings, the experience is still very watchable. Two things that really save the film are some highlight moments of Choi Seung-yoon’s portrayal of mother So-Young, and the enigmatic final act. The final act is interesting because it is such a change-of-pace from the rest of the film that it can either be judged as being a bit feeble in how sentimental it gets compared to the rest of the film, or it can be seen as a reprieve that’s much less tropey (or at least, a different kind of tropey) than the previous two-thirds of the film. Either way, this section of the film still arguably has its own share of unnecessary ‘overdirected’ moments, the most cringeworthy of note happens right before the final sequence, but it does bring a nice full circle stamp for the title of the film.
“It is a film that doesn’t derail or doesn’t necessarily commit any cinematic travesties along the way. It’s just not one that begs rewatch after rewatch from me after it’s all said and done. Still, there is enough to stick with a viewer in bearing witness to this mother-and-son aspect ratio-changing ride. (Yes, changing aspect ratios like they’re different tunes on a soundtrack throughout is definitely one of the choices the director makes on this slightly bumpy ride.) 3 cats out of 5
“(We sometimes over-critique things we really want to like.)”