Gyeong-ah's Daughter (2022) User Reviews

Understated but powerful account of the long-term impact of revenge

[mcdaid · 8/10 · 20 March 2023]

I try on long haul flights to always watch movies that i would otherwise be unlikely to see. Such was the case on my latest flight with British Airways when one of the Korean movies available was Gyeong-ah's Daughter. A film dominated by two powerful perfomances from Kim Jeong-Yong and Ha Yoon-Kyung (the latter widely known outside Korea for her role as lawyer Choi Su-yoen in Extraordinary Attorney Woo). The story opens with a Skype call between a mother (Gyeong-Ah) and her daughter Yeon-Soo, a young teacher living alone in Seoul. The bond between the two seems strong; yet Gyeong-Ah worries about her daughter's naivety around men. Yeon-Soo assures her that she is not in a relationship, going so far as to show all the limited space in her apartment over Skype. Yeon-Soo is a very diligent teacher who engages well with her students and is popular with her fellow teachers. It soon becomes clear however that all is not perfect and very early on in the story we learn that she is trying to end the relationship with her boyfriend. Resisting his pleas for one more chance she makes a complete break with him, and in the process goes to spend the weekend with her mother in Incheon. Their relationship is also far from perfect. What should be a pleasant weekend is somewhat marred by reminiscence about Yeon-Soos father. We learn that Gyeong-Ahs' late husband was often drunk and abusive to her. Yeon-Soo doesnt fully understand why her mother stayed with him, given his violence. Gyeong-Ah replies that her father worked hard to give them the house that they live in, and his hard work led to the alcohol abuse and violence. The story then takes a dramatic, unexpected turn when Gyeong-Ah receives an anonymous message about her daughter. This message is also received by several of Yeon-Soo's friends. The impacts are profound for both mother and daughter. What the follows is an understated but powerful account of the long term impact of what actually is a very brief act of character assassination and its malicious spread over electronic media. Once this malign information is in the public domain it is almost impossible to contain. Lives are changed; future dreams lost ; relationships shattered; identities hidden. The film charts at whether mother and daughter can overcome the trauma of this malign activity and heal their own relationship, let alone move on with their lives. As Yeon-Soo says to her mother at one point "You are not to blame....and i am not too blame". Gyeong-ah's daughter is thoroughly gripping from start to finish; it is hard hitting at times, with moments of tenderness, with great perfomances from the leads and supporting cast (again mainly women). I hope it gets a wider audience. It deserves to be seen by more people.