by Rose Finlay                                 

In recent years, South Korean cinema has seen a meteoric rise in popularity and recognition in the international film community. Filmfest Hamburg has a long history of highlighting cinema from the region and this year is no different with the inclusion of KINGMAKER and HOMMAGE, as well as the Korean-centric RETURN TO SEOUL. Each film brings to light a unique aspect of South Korean culture and current political realities.

In Byun Sung-Hyun’s powerful KINGMAKER (KINGMEIKEO), we are introduced to the complicated political reality of the 1960s. When small-time politician Kim Woon-beom (Sol Kyung-gu) suddenly rises through the political ranks, it is thanks to the North Korean defector Seo Chang-Dae (played by the enigmatic Lee Sun-Kyun). Seo is willing to do whatever it takes to get Kim Woon-beom, but it is an uphill battle when fighting against the firmly entrenched dictatorship of Park Chung-hee. Unfortunately for Seo, his cleverness, ruthlessness, and skills at winning elections makes him a target of political enemies while also being at odds with his boss Kim Woon-beom’s ethics. The conclusion of these tensions will decide the political future of South Korea for many years to come.

In a far more intimate portrait, HOMMAGE (OMAJU) is Shin Su-Won’s ode to the forgotten history of women filmmakers in South Korea. Ji-wan (Lee Jung-Eun) is an unsuccessful filmmaker with a husband who wants her to quit and get a real job, a son who doesn’t value her work, and a film which plays to an empty cinema. At the verge of giving up in the field that has been her life’s passion, she is offered the opportunity to help reconstruct THE WOMAN JUDGE (1962) by South Korea’s first female film director Hong Eun-won. In Ji-wan’s search for additional footage and information about the film, she uncovers the secret history of the first women pioneers in the industry in the country.

RETURN TO SEOUL (RETOUR À SÉOUL) by Davy Chou is a co-production from France, Germany, Belgium, and Qatar, which focuses on one woman’s fractured sense of self on her quest to reconnect with her South Korean birth parents. Freddie (Park Ji-Min) was adopted as a child by a French couple. When, in her mid-twenties, she tries to reconnect with her birth parents, she finds the linguistic and cultural differences to be an insurmountable obstacle to her ability to connect. Over several years, Freddie lives and visits Seoul time and again and each time puts on a new identity. She searches for connection and meaning, for the truth of herself in her homeland, but always finds herself at odds with herself.

All of the films at this year’s festival show a South Korea coming to terms with its past and present. In HOMMAGE, a woman who deals with an unsupportive family discovers how her personal experiences compare to the long history of the erasure of women filmmakers’ work in South Korea. RETURN to SEOUL attempts to tackle the difficult topic of international adoption, something extremely common in South Korea throughout the latter part of the 20th century due to political pressure, and devastating impact it can have on the identity of the adoptee, as well as the family who gave them up. Finally, KINGMAKER gives context to the political turmoil of the 1960s, which led to so many social and political problems that South Korea is only just emerging from. Each make for fascinatingly introspective portraits of the country demonstrating why South Korean cinema continues to be something to watch for in future festivals.