![]() ![]() He dismissed the film as being trash, because, after all, Korea couldn’t possibly produce a worthy movie. Reed didn’t like “Oldboy,” which is his right, of course. But - like the NPR reviewer who didn’t enjoy “Please Look After Mom” - Reed’s critique took a stab at kimchi, of all things. ![]() His vitriol was over-the-top, even for him. Honestly, I hadn’t realized that Reed was still alive. I was surprised at his review for two reasons: Of course, Catsoulis’ review was nowhere near as offensive as Rex Reed’s critique of the South Korean hit, “Oldboy,” in the New York Observer. It reminded me a bit of how this NPR book critic dismissed a Korean novel as “ kimchee-scented Kleenex fiction. What rubbed me the wrong way about this NYT review is that it was too quick to dismiss things the critic didn’t understand. But for me, “Ode to My Father” is something familiar that evokes memories of sadness, happiness and hope. That sentiment was shared by my parents and much of their generation, who in many ways gave up their lives to ensure our future.Īrt is often made to be accessible to the general public and, when it isn’t, it can come across as exclusionary. Near the end of the film, Deok-Su tells his wife that he is glad that it was them who suffered so that their children could have easier, better lives. This loss will haunt him for the rest of his life, as he tries to fulfill the promise he made to his father: that as the oldest son, he will take care of his mother and siblings. But the family is separated from his father and baby sister. Along with his mother and two of his siblings, he is rescued by a U.S. During the Hungnam Evacuation in the Korean War, Deok-Su (Hwang Jung-Min) is told by his parents that he has to make sure that his baby sister remains with him. (She might want to read her own paper’s coverage of how Korean families were separated after the Korean Peninsula was divided.) Perhaps she believes it isn’t plausible that the protagonist would give up the opportunity to better his future and that the life he led is worth an “eye roll” or that the heartbreaking televised reunions between families torn apart by the Korean War are melodramatic. Catsoulis that the “packaged pain” she complains about was all too real. It wasn’t until I was older that my parents shared with me some of the horrors they lived through during the Korean War, and I can assure Ms. While there is no doubt that director Yoo Je-Kyoon would’ve loved for American audiences to embrace his movie, it’s also undeniable that this film was not made with Western moviegoers in mind. In a review that ran in the New York Times, film critic Jeannette Catsoulis gave “Ode to My Father” a big thumbs down for being “syrupy” and for having “packaged pain … likely to leave Western audiences cold.” Others, like my father, were bound by duty to tackle responsibilities that would have crumpled others. But in the short run, who would take care of his parents and younger siblings while he was away? My smart, talented and industrious father gave up dreams of going to medical school in Tokyo - something that would’ve benefited him in the long run. When a neighbor, who was being forced to turn in communists, pointed his finger at my father - who wasn’t a communist - my 아버지 forgave him. When he was sent away to fight in the front lines during the Korean War, his younger brothers tearfully begged to go with him, saying they would rather die with him, than to survive on their own. ![]() My father was just 17 when he became the primary breadwinner for his family.
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