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| Trailer here |
Background:
Spirit's Homecoming is a South Korean film based on "Comfort Women" who served as sex slaves for the Japanese soldiers during the Second World War. It mainly encompasses on a young girl, Jung-Min, the protagonist, who, like many other girls, (not just Korean, but also Chinese and Vietnamese) were forced into sex slavery. (Full Korean article here. English version here with similar baseline story of how this movie was developed. View trailer for snippet)
The term "Comfort Women" has been and still is a heavily sensitive political issue, in which side note, is one of many reasons for the "indirect" unsettling relationship between Korea and Japan. (Esp: Racism; still an evident and lingering issue within the older generations.) In recent months, Japan "tried" to settle ties by apologizing and repatriating with ~$8.3 million to the victims. Unfortunately, it only fueled more animosity and frustration - occurred from Dec 2015 ~ Jan 2016.
Nevertheless, the movie was released late February in Korea, and then in US, early March - right after Japan's public reparation. Some assumed it would make things worse, but it didn't. More recognized the problem and more began to do something about it. Although the "Comfort Women" problem has not been absolutely settled, it did bring into light the atrocity of not only the horrors of comfort women, but also human trafficking in general.
Movie Review:
Spirit's Homecoming, approximately 130 min, received 8.2/10 on IMDb, but I gave it a solid 7/10. The movie story line coincides with two different time periods based off from the main protagonist - during and after the enslavement. The plot and story during the protagonist's enslavement were grueling, graphic, and emotional. Several scenes were difficult for me to watch, yet necessary. Character acting were great, almost top-notch. The settings and scenes were realistically vivid and captivating. (Esp: the first 20 minutes of the movie.) Overall plot was steady and invigorating.
The story of "after her enslavement" were filled with ... "What the," moments. The movie is heavily Buddhist based and religiously aligned. (Implication from movie subtitle: "trampled souls, seeking their way home, finally returning.") So, some scenes were out of ordinary and random, and it left me confused or lost. (Not that I'm biased against Buddhism.) Some scenes, I thought, deviated from the original plot and failed to "fit in" with the movie flow.
I recommend Spirit's Homecoming to my friends; especially, to my non-Korean friends. Although it does not encompass the entirety of "comfort woman", it still is a good awareness trigger to sex/human trafficking and understanding Korean history and culture - taking seriously theses unspoken problems and issues. Informative, important, and eye-opening. Not for the weakhearted emotional people.
Like me..