In both documentaries and films, adoptees meeting their biological parents for the first time is an event often painted in a sweet light. Never mind the child’s mixed feelings about it or the tragic reality that caused the split in the first place—it’s a reunion between family members, so it must be unequivocally special. In Return to Seoul, director Davy Chou doesn’t just debunk that myth, he subverts it by making the adoptee, Freddie, as unapologetically complex and emotionally enigmatic as possible. She resists affection but wallows in loneliness. She craves reinvention but stays in the same place for years. She’s in constant motion while being absolutely stuck in life. In other words, she’s a realistic embodiment of a person struggling to find some semblance of home. Chou displays an intimate understanding of the foreign experience, and he couples it with captivating cinematography, a rousing soundtrack, and fantastic performances across the board to make a daring, inventive, and thoroughly exciting film.
"This one will stand the test of time: knotty, electric, powerful, soul-searching."
— Ella Kemp
"[Chou] grounds his story in the contours and illuminations of lead Park Ji-Min’s features and expressions in a debut performance so piercing it makes the entire film move like a breathing poem."
— Angelica Jade Bastién
After an impulsive travel decision to visit friends, Freddie, 25, returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France. Freddie suddenly finds herself embarking on an unexpected journey in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions.
Freddie (Ji-min Park) is a French adoptee who flies to her home country, South Korea, to learn more about her birth parents, but what was meant to be a quick trip extends to an indefinite stay as Freddie embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
Park is unforgettable as Freddie. The character is, at once, unpredictable, angry, sensual, and sad, and Park turns in a (debut!) performance that delicately layers all these and more. Often lost in translation, Park uses both the subtle nuances of her expressions and the extreme physicality of her body to fill in the gaps in communication. But she’s especially impressive when she starts dancing. It’s one of the few times she seems at peace, and it’s incredible—holy, even—to witness her fully submit and lose herself to the music.
If reinventing yourself every five years or so works for Freddie *and* Taylor Swift, it should probably work for you too.
Cannes
1 nomination
Spirit Awards
1 nomination
LAFCA
1 win
One of the worst movies I have ever watched… 1/10
If you had given this movie a 6/10 I wouldn’t have been disappointed. If you’re off putt by the lead in the first 15 minutes, rest assured it gets worse and doesn’t get better. There is no payoff from sitting through the 2h runtime.