Yeon Sang-ho’s The Ugly

If you thought your old nickname was bad, keep in mind Lim Dong-hwan’s late mother had it much worse. Her factory co-workers called her “Dung Ogre.” No, nothing was lost in the translation. Sadly, she disappeared while he was still an infant, so he never knew his mother. He had never even seen her, since she apparently left behind no pictures. Obviously, he cannot really blame his blind father Lim Yeong-gyu for not taking any. However, Kim understandably wonders if she truly deserved the cruel taunts and epithets she endured when her murdered body is finally discovered in Yeon Sang-ho’s The Ugly, which opens today in New York.

For as long as Lim can remember, his blind father took care of him, so now the son returns the favor. When he was little, his father was desperately poor, but they persevered. Now, the older Lim enjoys as small degree of fame, as the blind engraver, who produces such laser-sharp stamps. Nevertheless, he dd not even recognize Jung Young-hee’s name when the police call.

As it happens, a TV camera happens to be there when the younger Lim receives the news. Smelling a bigger story than her initial feel-good profile, the producer, Han Su-jin, arranges for him to meet several of his mother’s former co-workers incognito, to learn about her life and potentially identify suspects in her murder. The pattern of bullying is truly disturbing, as are the reports of sexual assault committed by her sleazy boss.

This is a painfully dark film that could leave a mark on your soul. In terms of themes and tone, it is much closer to Yeon’s moody animated films, like King of Pigs than his Train to Busan zombie films. In many ways, it is as spirit-crushing as Tetsuya Nakashima’s Memories of Matsuko. Frankly, both films should be banned from streaming platforms on Mother’s Days, because they could very easily drive vulnerable viewers to suicide.

Indeed, Yeon puts the audience through the wringer and he probably should have had on-set counseling for his cast. That might have been particularly true for Park Jeong-min, who goes to some very dark places as the increasingly outraged Lim son and his flawed father, Yeong-gyu, in his younger, flashback years.

Ironically, Shin Hyun-been gives an achingly eloquent performance through dialogue and body-language alone, since Yeon intentionally obscures Jung Young-hee face throughout her scenes. Arguably, Kwon Hae-hyo (from about a dozen Hong Sang-soo films, three or four of which were completely unnecessary) shows incredible discipline as the reserved and withdrawn senior Lim Yeong-gyu, which means his performance will be likely overlooked or under-appreciated.

Regardless, The Ugly is an absolutely uncompromising film that will be highly divisive. It hardly takes an interpretive genius to understand the irony of the title and how it might better apply to other characters. This is not exactly a fun film, but it has a razor-sharp sense of morality that only tangentially involves economic inequalities (but that won’t stop some critics from making it all about class warfare). Recommended for Yeon’s bracing integrity of vision, The Ugly opens today (9/26) in New York, at the AMC Empire.