Film: Treeless Mountain
Release date: 26th April 2010
Release date: 26th April 2010
Certificate: PG
Running time: 89 mins
Director: So Yong KimStarring: Hee Yeon Kim, Song Hee Kim
Genre: DramaStudio: Soda
Format: DVD
Country: South KoreaWritten and directed by Korean-born, American-based, independent filmmaker So Yong Kim, Treeless Mountain is a touching story of two young sisters - a reportedly autobiographical depiction of desertion that is both credible and honest.
Six year-old Jin (Hee-yeon Kim) and her four year-old sister Bin (Song-hee Kim) live with their dispirited mother (Soo-ah Lee) in a cramped apartment in Seoul. Being sensible, and the eldest of the two sisters, Jin often has to take responsibility for Bin, as well as certain chores when their mother is working. Although she clearly loves her children, loneliness has taken up residence in her heart after her husband had walked out on them – it is never made clear as to why. Determined to make things right, she leaves the girls with their aunt, who lives in a shabby town outside Seoul, and goes searching for their father. She gives Jin and Bin a piggy bank and tells them that their aunt will give them a coin every time they do something she tells them to do, and by the time the piggy is full, she will have returned.
The girls soon realise their aunt is an unaffectionate selfish drunk; although not deliberately heartless - it’s obvious that she isn’t cut out to care for the girls. Being the sister of their father, any lack of compassion could be hereditary. Needless to say, Jin and Bin find a more creative way to earn money and fill up their piggy bank – they grill grasshoppers, stick them on skewers and sell them to the local kids. Once the piggy is full, Jin and Bin race to the bus stop and wait for their mother to arrive. The bus comes but there’s no sign of their mother. Their aunt receives a letter from her explaining that she has found her husband but it didn’t go as well as she planned. She writes that she is unable, emotionally and financially, to care for Jin and Bin and that she doesn’t want to burden their aunt with them and thus asks her to take them to stay with their grandparents on their farm…
Treeless Mountain is the second feature by Kim and was shot in South Korea where she was born. The photography wonderfully embraces the beauty and ugliness of the city and rural locations. The film incorporates very little dialogue preferring to leave the visuals to tell most of the narrative, which carries the plot along at a slow meditative pace. Most of the camera shots are low-placed rendering the two sisters’ point of view, which cleverly allows us to share their perspective of what can often be seen as a cruel and unsympathetic world. Kim chooses to come down to the children’s level rather than pointing the camera down on them, which would come across as patronizing – the film is not meant to be experienced from an adults point of view, this would miss the whole point of what the film is trying to convey.
The two main protagonists are charmingly portrayed by Hee-yeon Kim and Song-hee Kim. Their lack of acting experience only adds to the realism of the film, resulting in more natural performances. Kim found her two young leading stars when she auditioned various children from elementary schools and kindergartens across South Korea. In order to create confrontational scenes between the two girls, who appear in almost every scene, and portray much of their own personalities, Kim would manipulate the situation by hiding something that belonged to one of them. If it was something like a sketchbook that belonged to Song-hee Kim then she would blame Hee-yeon Kim for taking it.
Treeless Mountain demonstrates perfectly why independent films are so important – in the hands of a director from a major studio with a large budget this film would quite easily be ruined. The limitations, as is the case with many other independently produced films, only add to the film’s effectiveness. It diaphanously captures a child’s resilience to change and a willingness to adapt to diverse environments.
Kim’s poignant film of two resourceful children with uncertain prospects is not going to be everyone’s choice of film, the pace may irritate some and its uncomplicated storyline may be too simplistic for others. But to pass up on at least one viewing, and to ignore the work of this creative director, would be to miss out on a talent that will undoubtedly one day produce a masterpiece.
Although it just falls short of being a great film, Treeless Mountain is the perfect example of a creative director with a promising future. SLP
Six year-old Jin (Hee-yeon Kim) and her four year-old sister Bin (Song-hee Kim) live with their dispirited mother (Soo-ah Lee) in a cramped apartment in Seoul. Being sensible, and the eldest of the two sisters, Jin often has to take responsibility for Bin, as well as certain chores when their mother is working. Although she clearly loves her children, loneliness has taken up residence in her heart after her husband had walked out on them – it is never made clear as to why. Determined to make things right, she leaves the girls with their aunt, who lives in a shabby town outside Seoul, and goes searching for their father. She gives Jin and Bin a piggy bank and tells them that their aunt will give them a coin every time they do something she tells them to do, and by the time the piggy is full, she will have returned.
The girls soon realise their aunt is an unaffectionate selfish drunk; although not deliberately heartless - it’s obvious that she isn’t cut out to care for the girls. Being the sister of their father, any lack of compassion could be hereditary. Needless to say, Jin and Bin find a more creative way to earn money and fill up their piggy bank – they grill grasshoppers, stick them on skewers and sell them to the local kids. Once the piggy is full, Jin and Bin race to the bus stop and wait for their mother to arrive. The bus comes but there’s no sign of their mother. Their aunt receives a letter from her explaining that she has found her husband but it didn’t go as well as she planned. She writes that she is unable, emotionally and financially, to care for Jin and Bin and that she doesn’t want to burden their aunt with them and thus asks her to take them to stay with their grandparents on their farm…
Treeless Mountain is the second feature by Kim and was shot in South Korea where she was born. The photography wonderfully embraces the beauty and ugliness of the city and rural locations. The film incorporates very little dialogue preferring to leave the visuals to tell most of the narrative, which carries the plot along at a slow meditative pace. Most of the camera shots are low-placed rendering the two sisters’ point of view, which cleverly allows us to share their perspective of what can often be seen as a cruel and unsympathetic world. Kim chooses to come down to the children’s level rather than pointing the camera down on them, which would come across as patronizing – the film is not meant to be experienced from an adults point of view, this would miss the whole point of what the film is trying to convey.
The two main protagonists are charmingly portrayed by Hee-yeon Kim and Song-hee Kim. Their lack of acting experience only adds to the realism of the film, resulting in more natural performances. Kim found her two young leading stars when she auditioned various children from elementary schools and kindergartens across South Korea. In order to create confrontational scenes between the two girls, who appear in almost every scene, and portray much of their own personalities, Kim would manipulate the situation by hiding something that belonged to one of them. If it was something like a sketchbook that belonged to Song-hee Kim then she would blame Hee-yeon Kim for taking it.
Treeless Mountain demonstrates perfectly why independent films are so important – in the hands of a director from a major studio with a large budget this film would quite easily be ruined. The limitations, as is the case with many other independently produced films, only add to the film’s effectiveness. It diaphanously captures a child’s resilience to change and a willingness to adapt to diverse environments.
Kim’s poignant film of two resourceful children with uncertain prospects is not going to be everyone’s choice of film, the pace may irritate some and its uncomplicated storyline may be too simplistic for others. But to pass up on at least one viewing, and to ignore the work of this creative director, would be to miss out on a talent that will undoubtedly one day produce a masterpiece.
Although it just falls short of being a great film, Treeless Mountain is the perfect example of a creative director with a promising future. SLP
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