Ode to My Father depicts the life of Yoon Deok-soo, an ordinary Korean man who witnesses the various upheavals that the country has faced since the 1950s onwards. It’s quite a turbulent time. With so much upheaval that he faced, we’re surprised to see how hesitant the drama is in critiquing the powers that be. However, in doing so, the film sharpens its focus on the personal lived experience of Deok-soo and those who lived during his time. By grounding its direction through Deok-soo’s perspective, Ode to My Father serves as a potent portrait of his generation, the generation that built South Korea as we know it today.
Duk-soo lost his father and younger sister while taking refuge during the Korean War. He leaves for Germany to work as a miner and enters the Vietnam War. He wishes to find his sister.
