The End

SPOILERS




But I'm not sure if I understood the ending I have to admit.

So his nan came up with the money to help buy the silence of the mum so that all these kids went free. Yet she hands over her grandson to the police? I mean I completely understand the fact that she wanted to honor and avenge that poor girl, and that she was going to stay true to her moral, even if that meant helping the other rich kids to get away with it.

But in a practical point of view, I can't see how the grandson could be judged for the case without dragging everybody else down with him?! (Assuming there is a case as proving he was indirectly responsible for the suicide of the girl would be a tricky one)

Still, what became of her is a mystery inferring from what was shown in the movie. We are left to formulate our own different interpretations, which works perfectly for the film.

Top 10 Films Of 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke1ivs2hHS8

Excellent post. Thank you very much for your insights. I saw the film earlier today and was deeply moved by it. Beautiful, poetic, and heartbreaking.

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Spoilers:

I interpreted things slightly differently. I think Mija's biggest conflict was not in the choice between "ratting" her grandson out or not, but in realizing that her grandson was beyond redemption.

You see her continually trying to ilicit some sort of remorse, regret, guilt out of her grandson, and she watches his reaction to her, to the picture, and her desperation to see some sort of humanity in her grandson is almost palpable. Watch again the scene where she puts the girl's picture on the table - there's almost this hopefulness when she thinks he might be upset... and then disbelief as he turns on the tv. I think she desperately needed to believe that there was something redeemable about him and that giving up her grandson was a smaller loss than finally having to accept that there wasn't.

I think her difficulty with this mirrored her process in writing poetry. She keeps wanting to see the "beauty" in everything, especially her own grandson, but as that lady advised her: she can't write poetry by forcing emotions or chasing beauty (or something like that). It's when she finally accepts "ugliness" that she is able to write her poem.

When she was crying outside with the police officer, I think that's when she resigned herself that there was nothing she could do or change about her grandson or the situation. She went to the man knowing already that she was going to turn in the boys, and I don't think she had any intention of paying the money - until she saw the girl's mom. I believe she went to get the money from that man because she wanted to give the money to the mother - not to pay hush money. Also it appeared to me she felt like she was speaking not just for herself but for the girl by asking him - saying you humiliated me, you degraded me, and you owe me this.

The act of washing the grandson and helping him, scolding him for not washing in the right places, was her final grandmotherly instructions knowing he was going to jail (or prison or wherever). It was the last time he would have a hot meal, or a warm bath, and the last time she would be around to remind him to take care of himself. It all seemed very ritualistic, and she was going through the steps of saying goodbye to her grandson. There might not have been resentment, but I felt as if by the moment we see her playing badminton, she was just goig through the motions and rituals, but feeling no more forced emotions for her grandson.

It might be a bit sad but I did hope she committed suicide. The idea of her succumbing to Alzheimer's and with such bad memories to flash back to seemed like worse than death.

This was the saddest movie I've seen all year, and I plan on watching it again.

What a fantastic post! Thank you for it, it helped me a lot to clarify my thoughts about the movie.

I just didn't understand why Mija's daughter was so much absent, and why Mija was so reluctant in talking to her in the first place (about the boy's crime and about her own disease. Maybe Mija thought she had already suffered too much from the divorce and didn't deserve any more suffering?

Your thoughtful analysis and keen insights are right on target.

We see Mija weeping as the "Poetry Cop" comes outside for a smoke. We do not need to watch their ensuing conversation to know that she told him of the crime. Too many films fail to trust the audience, so we get unnecessary explanations and overbearing music to tell us what to think and feel.

The mother's eyes on Mija through the glass of the father's store is a haunting image, one of many in this powerful film.

The ending is foreshadowed when Mija's hat is blown off her head as she stands on the bridge where Agnes leaped to her death.

An honest film that stirs the emotions. Bravo!

Spoilers follow, of course ... (why would you be reading this far into this thread if you were worried about spoilers?)



Luisa, I am very much appreciating your writings about this beautiful film. You're very insightful, and you obviously feel as much love for this film as I do.

But I want to point out one thing that -- for me -- was an extremely important component of the ending's intense emotional impact: The montage at the end (the images of the dog, being on the bus, etc.) represented, I believe, the final minutes of Agnes' life. I'll give two reasons why: First, the dog was not threatening like it was in the earlier scene with Mija. It was acting in a loving and excited manner. This was for me the biggest clue that it is NOT Mija's POV, but Agnes' POV that we're watching. Second, we see her brother running alongside the bus -- sure, he could do this to any bus, but he was doing it to get attention from his sister. Again, it's Agnes' POV. She took that bus to the bridge. These were her final experiences of her brother and of her dog. Thus the empathy that had totally enveloped Mija was at its highest point here. One can even say that Mija actually experienced Agnes' final minutes, so powerful and intense was her empathy.

SO BEAUTIFULLY DONE. I just want to give this director a standing ovation for days.

For others: If you don't get it, you don't get it. No harm, no foul.

I really liked your take on the movie.

But one thing i want to point out is that one million won is only about 1,000 USD. So they only paid $30,000 ALL TOGETHER. The parents weren't rich, just a tiny bit more 'citified' than the girl's mom. The grandmother is an 'ajumma' which is housekeeper--there are many references where people say, Oh you look so dressed up and (basically) classy. Because most ajummas are lower middle classed, as can be seen by the tiny apt she and her grandson live in. That apt is really really tiny for something that's outside of Seoul. Even poorer people live in bigger places outside of Seoul (remember the one guy in petry class who said he was so happy to move out of Seoul so he could have his bigger place).

This isn't just in response to you per se, but general comments too;) I lived in Seoul for 10 yrs.

The amateur poet/policeman stayed on to continue the badminton game with the grandmother, which was horrible for her because she didn't like the man and knew her grandson was going to jail for his part in the crime.

I would suggest that after the policeman comforted her when she was crying after the poetry class, they became friends and she told him the whole story of her grandson's crime. So I believe that the grandson's arrest was pre-arranged; the policeman who had become her friend stayed behind to comfort her in what was a difficult moment for her.

I also think that she found her share of the hush money mainly because she did want the girl's mother to get the money. The attitude of the other boys' fathers (problem solved!) was enough for her to know for sure that nothing had been solved. She realized the moral justice of letting the police handle the crime even after the mother had been paid off. And by the way, don't let the amount of 30 million Won fool you: it's only about $25,000 - small comfort for the loss of a child.

I feel that this is one of the best films I can remember seeing, and Jeong-hie Yun was breathtakingly good.

It's very obvious the arrest was pre-arranged: she dragged him away from his friends, gave him a nice "last meal", and cleaned him up, because she knew he would be taken away soon, probably for a long time.

I just saw this movie today and appreciate your insights, markrschulz.

I too think the grandmother confessed Wook's crime to the policeman when he found her crying, and that set him up to be arrested. There is no doubt in my mind that he would rat out his friends once that happened! unlike his grandmother, he had no sense of honor or loyalty.

In this way, the mother would have some sort of recompense for the loss of her daughter, and the boys would be brought to justice as well.

The ending was amazing -- it fulfilled the comments made by the woman poet who said you can't force the poem but it is already in your heart and will write itself at the proper moment.

Thanks to the poster who pointed out that the barking dog was "friendly" at the end and that the boy running alongside the bus was the girl's brother. I missed both those points.