Korean Film Review

Sandy Lives (Doi Cat – Korean, 1999)

This film is about relationships during the turbulent era of the Korean war and after the signing of the 1954 Geneva Cease fire.

The movie begins with the main character “Cahn,” saying goodbye to his second wife (Tam) and their child in the northern part of the country. He returns to his homeland in the south and is reunited with his first wife (Thong) after a twenty-year absence. The film implies that the second wife appears to be aware that he is returning to the first wife in the south, due to the fact that she is unable to send him letters.

He and his wife try to become reacquainted and from what I gather she is aware that he has a family in the north. Later, his daughter unexpectedly arrives at their home. Soon afterwards her mother travels from the north to collect the girl. All four of them eventually live together for some time and thus a series of emotional conflicts arise. Eventually the first wife and child return by train to the north with Cahn, who later changes his mind and leaves the train to return to his first wife in the south.

This film allowed me insight into the real casualties of this war. Not only did it include the dead, but also the living. Some families to this day remain separated and unlikely to ever reunite because of the politics that exist between the north and south.

Students in my classroom would write reflective journals about being separated from their families. They would then list possible reasons as to why they were separted and how everyone would react upon their return.
edited by sbuttle on 1/16/2011
edited by sbuttle on 1/16/2011