[HanCinema's Film Review] "Bloodline" + Full Movie

Also known as "Kinship", Kim Soo-yong's implements, once more, a rather melodramatic approach to explore the generational gap between the pre and post war generations, in an effort, though, that netted him the Best Film Award both at the Grand Bell Awards and the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

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The story takes place in a shanty town on a mountain slope at the outskirts of a large city, which is mostly inhabited by North Korean defectors. Widower Kim Deok-sam bugs his son Geo-book to join the American army, as he sees this option as the best one for his future. Hwang Jung-soon, who lives next door, teaches her daughter Bok-soon traditional Korean folksongs and bugs her to become a gisaeng, to work in the local bar, while her father, who despises Deok-sam, is making arrangements for her with another man. Another neighbor, Shin Young-kyun seems to have the worse fate of all, as his wife is sick and bedridden, and he has to provide for both her, his elderly mother, his daughter, and his younger brother, Choi Moo-ryong, who is a Japanese university graduate and wants to become novelist, turning down any other kind of work. Young-kyun tries to get money by collecting cigarette butts but they are not enough even to take his wife to a hospital, with his circumstances making him rather aggravated, to the point that he throws frequent violent fits. In the meantime, Moo-ryong and Bok-soon feel close to each other, but the latter's parents do not want even to hear about this relationship, eventually forcing them to take matters in their hands. Lastly, Deok-sam finds a wife suggested by a local patron, but things do not proceed as he thought they would.

Kim Soo-yong implements an episodic approach in order to highlight how difficult life was for those outside the system, in a Korea that was experiencing a rapid export-led economic growth at the time but still had a long way to go regarding social issues. The melodramatic approach, even if a bit extreme on occasion, particularly in the case of Young-kyun, who does not seem to get a break no matter what he does, is a bit excessive in its presentation, but actually serves well to present the circumstances of these people.

At the same time, the focus on the generational gap is also intense, with the parents here presented in rather bleak colors, essentially wishing to exploit their children in order to support themselves, in a fashion that actually mirrors the patriarchal thinking of the then previous generation. The suffering their children experience adds even more to this aspect, although Kim actually presents a solution, by showing that things can change when the children take the fate in their own hands, essentially ignoring their parents. On a last comment, the impact US soldiers had in the everyday life of a number of people also becomes a focal point, even if a secondary one.

Apart from context and melodrama, however, Kim has also included some moments of humor, mostly revolving around the excellent Kim Seung-ho-I's Deok-sam and the "troubles" he gets in, with the pissing episode being one of the funniest moments in the whole film. His fight with Hwang Jung-soon, who plays Bok-soon's mother, is also rather memorable, and in general it is easy to say that the acting is on a very high level, with Kang-Shin Sung-il, Um Aing-ran, and particularly Shin Young-kyun, giving great performances.

Technically, and despite the mediocre quality of the film material, the movie is also on a very high level, with Yu Jae-won's editing in particular being of the highest level, with the succession of scenes being ideal, as is the case with the overall rather fast pace. Chun Jo-myong's cinematography captures the poorness, and the subsequent drama and despair that dominate the story's setting realistically, without any particular exaltations.

Also due to its sensible 94 minutes, "Bloodline" is a very easy to watch movie, which manages to present its comments eloquently, through an effort with very few faults.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Bloodline" is directed by Kim Soo-yong, and features Kim Seung-ho-I, Hwang Jung-soon, Kang-Shin Sung-il, Um Aing-ran, Kim Ji-mee, Choi Nam-hyun. Release date in Korea: 1963/10/03.