Childhood’s end… Scattered Night (2019), London Korean Film Festival Closing Gala, Regent Street Cinema

Remarkably this was co-directors Lee Jihyoung and Kim Sol’s graduation film and in the post-screening Q&A, Kim Sol said that it had even got their tutor to admit that they’d worked hard. He or she may have been very hard to please but this film is a quietly spectacular family drama that touches on many of the themes of the festival and strikes new ground in terms of the universality and deceptive simplicity of its sadness.

The story centres on a family in crisis, parents Mum (Kim Hyeyoung) and Dad (Lim Hojun) – who in the subtitles at least, refer to themselves in the third person throughout - and their children ten-year old Su-min (Moon Seunga) and her older brother Jin-ho (Choi Junwoo). Mum and Dad can no longer continue living together and have decided to move out of the family home and somehow split the children between them in separate flats the only problem being how and who?

This is a common heartbreak – how many families does this affect? - and given extra punch by the directorial team with Kim Sol focused on the cinematography and Jihyoung on the emotional, performative narrative of her script. In the opening sections a wide-angled lens is used to introduce the home and all members of the family but gradually Kim Sol shifts to a tighter focus, often hand-held, closing in on the remarkable emoting of the children and sometimes only showing their parents in part.

Make no mistake, the two youngsters give incredibly detailed performances, especially young Moon Seunga, and the directors deserve all the plaudits that they have had and will continue to get for their work. The film won both the Grand Prix in the Jeonju Festival's Korean competition (2019) and the Best Actress Award went to Moon.

Quality time? Choi Junwoo, Moon Seunga and Lim Hojon

There’s not much to describe in the way of action in Scattered Night, but there is a compelling journey made by the children… Moon is almost ever-present and to a large degree we experience the situation through her mentality with both Mum and Dad bewildering with their shifts from focused attentiveness to behaviour beyond the pre-teen’s ken. One moment Mum is focused on clipping her nails, only half-attentive, the next she gets closer to her daughter as she helps her clip her nails… the ebb and flow of everyday family engagement revealed through nail clippers. There are many such moments; a family increasingly out of its own focus.

Mum and Dad struggle to articulate and in a key discussion with the children they are shot from the side and backs as we see the youngsters put into words what they’re actually trying to say. The family completes the sense of each individual and it will take a long time for the damage being done to be fixed. The parents find it hard to use the words in their heads, perhaps they’re more scared than the children, they can see how lonely life is.

Su-min worries about awkwardness developing between herself and her brother and he responds that there already is… it’s funny in a well-observed way and the humour comes across before the subtitles translate the specific words. The timing of the performers and their expressiveness means that there’s an innocence at play and the hidden tragedy is that we see from the children that they do not fully comprehend how deeply their lives will change.

The parents offer the children three options, both can stay with Mum or one each with Mum and Dad… both staying with Dad doesn’t appear to be a runner as, in his words, Mum will get “jealous” – his most childish moment. It’s for the children to decide… and the way they live in future will indeed change everything but the film succeeds so well in making us feel this as children do. No mean feat. One to watch and cast and crew also not to be missed in future!

So Mayer provided an excellent introduction and also facilitated a Q&A with Kim Sol after the screening - just when we we all reeling from her film!

This was a splendid way to close the home leg of the 14th London Korean Film Festival, but the films carry on across the UK until 24th November, full details on their website.

I know a little more about Korean cinema than I did two weeks ago, and this has only raised more questions and connections to seek out. See you next year LKFF for #15!

Kim Sol gives As to So Mayer's Qs post screening