"The Other Child" Juri's father is cheating on her mother with a woman. Their family has long gone wrong and only creates the appearance of external well-being. Two years since he sleeps separately, the mother is all in work, and the daughter... the daughter grows unnoticed. The girl is ready to do anything, as long as her parents live as before. Without thinking twice, she begins to follow the negligent father, trying to find out who this mysterious mistress is.
Kim Yun-ah is a school tomboy, he won't get into his pocket for a word. Maybe because I grew up without a father. She didn't choose that kind of life. But it's still better than a random dad. The more serious her protest to a sudden man who often visits his mother. And now she's expecting a baby.
Two girls from different neighborhoods, classes, living standards and well-being. It turns out that Ju-ri and Kim Yun-ah go to the same school. And confrontation is inevitable. But that's just the beginning. As the confrontation unfolds, both realize they are pursuing the same goal. No one knows what will happen in the end.
No, this is not a comedy or love drama, which is literally full of modern Japanese-Korean cinema. The director presented to the court of a thoughtful viewer a much more serious, deep story. Where characters act, conflict, challenge the whole world, against the laws of logic and quite reasonably at the same time. In some places, Kim Yun-ah’s behavior seems counterintuitive, but this is how she defies the surrounding conventions, mothers, school teachers. Ju-ri – this seemingly calm and well-mannered pai-girl also has to make her choice. It will not be as simple as it seems.
And if the little fool separated them both, then after his appearance he became what gave life meaning. Let this appearance not be the one that brings joy to our hearts. This is a truly shocking story. Where parents and children change places, where there is a sense of fatherhood and motherhood, responsibility for those who become the meaning of our lives – albeit for a short time. And these 17-year-old girls are probably more serious than their parents. Maybe because they’re not so cynical.
I would call it a social drama. But at the same time, it does not oppress with a touch of documentary, as other directors usually do in similar cases, trying to convince the viewer of the reality of what is happening. Kim Yun-suk went a more difficult way, complicating the images of the main characters. Park Sae-jin and Kim Hye-jung played a lot in this film. The latter, by the way, for the role of Ju-ri received the Blue Dragon Award as Best New Actress at the Blue Dragon Awards 2019. And the film itself, according to the Korean Film Critics Association, topped the Top Ten Films of 2019 and was awarded a special award. The actresses coped with dignity, having managed not to slide the plot either to a crying melodrama or to a simple story about teenagers. After all, in fact, despite the name, this story is not about themselves, but about their younger brother nicknamed Stupid – a tiny baby in an incubator fighting for his own life. And it turned out to be useless. No one but two single girls.
A powerful story about growing up, which will suit a thoughtful viewer looking for a plot for reflection.
7 out of 10