Yoon
Duk-soo twice found himself trying to outrun a rampaging Communist army, but he
was never a secret commando. He was an average Korean, who just witnessed a lot
of history from an uncomfortably close vantage point. With Yoon’s sweeping life
story, director (JK) Youn Je-kyun pays tribute to his parents’ generation throughout
Ode to My Father (trailer here), which opens in
New York this Friday.
Yoon
and his family were originally from Hungnam in the North, but they had to flee
the Chinese forces that had broken through the Allied defenses. Somehow,
fourteen thousand Koreans found refuge on the SS Meredith Victory, captained by
Leonard LaRue, after the Merchant Marine freighter dumped all of its munitions
cargo to accommodate them. Yoon, his mother, his older sister, and their infant
brother would make it. His father and the younger sister he was assigned to
protect do not. It is not his fault, but Yoon will blame himself all his life
and his passive-aggressive mother will let him.
The
Meredith Victory’s evacuation is still considered the largest military
humanitarian operation in history. Instead of the chaotic sequence depicted in
the film, the actually loading process was reportedly quite orderly, lasting
nearly a day. Frankly, it seems particularly unfair to depict Cap. LaRue as a
cold fish who reluctantly acquiesces to Korean pleas for deliverance, given the
fact he joined a Benedictine order after the war and was henceforth known as
Brother Marinus. The entire crew of the Meredith Victory probably deserves
better.
Regardless,
life marches on for Yoon. To support his brother’s studies and his sister’s
irresponsibleness, the duly appointed head of household accepts work as German
Gastarbeiter coalminer. The work is as punishing as it sounds, but the pay was
considerable for 1963 ROK. Fortunately for Yoon, West Germany was also
recruiting Gastarbeiter nurses, like his future wife, Youngja.
To
save the family’s Gukje market and pay for his entitled sister’s wedding, Yoon
will pack his bags again, signing on as a civilian technician supporting the
American forces in Vietnam. Youn and screenwriter Park Soo-jin draw powerful parallels
between the Hungnam evacuation and the chaos following the fall of Saigon,
without belaboring their points or the audience’s patience. In fact, it is
probably the strongest chapter of the necessarily episodic film. However, Yoon
has at least one more Forrest Gump-ish date with destiny, as a participant in
the landmark 1983 KBS broadcasts reuniting divided Korean families.
Ode is currently a
massive Korean box-office hit, so you know it will not be afraid of a little
sentimentality. Wisely, experienced character actor Oh Dal-su is on hand to
sprinkle about a little vinegar whenever things get too saccharine. In fact, as
Yoon’s best pal Dal-goo, he develops some convincingly down-to-earth buddy
chemistry with Hwang Jung-min. Staten Island’s Yunjin Kim, recognizable from
American television shows like Lost and
Mistresses, also has some nice
moments as Youngja, but her screen time is nowhere near equal to that of the central
Yoon.
It
is too bad the treatment of Cap. LaRue is most likely to annoy those who are
most familiar with him as a historical figure. Otherwise, Ode’s resilient story of family and friendship, featuring a network
television star, might really resonate with American audiences, especially in
military markets. Without that early anti-American veneer, it could have
possibly generated far wider word of mouth, but instead it will just play to
the established audience base. That is a shame, because the work of Hwang and Oh
give it real heart. Recommended (with mild reservations) for loyal fans of the
cast and Korean family dramas, Ode to My
Father opens this Friday (1/9) in New York, at the Regal E-Walk.
