oscar jubis
09-05-2007, 09:47 AM
This North American film, mainly spoken in Korean, is an accomplished entry into the subgenre of immigrant cinema. Films that depict the experience of those who move to a different country and culture for various reasons have multiplied during the past decade_this is a relatively new development in Europe, which has become significantly more ethnically diverse in recent years. In 2006, In Between Days won a FISPRECI award at Berlin and a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Despite the recognition, it's not common for a film devoid of commercial "hooks" to get nationwide distribution. In Between Days was written, edited and directed by So Yong Kim, a young woman who emigrated from South Korea with her mother at age twelve and settled in a Korean neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Kim has fashioned a character study of Aimie, a teenage girl who has recently moved to a "little Seoul" in an unnamed North American city_the film was shot in Toronto but anything that would specify locale was avoided to imply the universality of Aimie's experience. In Between Days has been compared with Rosetta by the Dardenne brothers and Ms. Kim acknowledges their influence. Like the Belgian film, In Between Days is a coming-of-age tale with an unwavering first-person point of view. Unlike Rosetta, Aimie has a working mother that supports her. She takes classes to improve her English and hangs out with Tran, a casually mischiveous boy who doesn't seem to reciprocate Aimie's romantic interest in him. At the risk of being reductive, I'd say the film focuses on what happens to a close friendship when romance creeps in, finding one's way in a new culture, and how Aimie attempts to maintain a relationship of sorts with an absent father_Kim approaches the latter rather artfully by having Aimie "talk" to her father in voice-over while the static camera stares out the window into wintry urban landscapes.
In Between Days is consistently rigorous, honest and authentic. It amounts to a long chain of little moments and small gestures of great significance in the life of an observant and rather shy teen girl. It's an intimate and circumscribed portrait and an auspicious debut. The material is also, let's be frank, less than compelling enough for a segment of the moviegoing audience.
Kim has fashioned a character study of Aimie, a teenage girl who has recently moved to a "little Seoul" in an unnamed North American city_the film was shot in Toronto but anything that would specify locale was avoided to imply the universality of Aimie's experience. In Between Days has been compared with Rosetta by the Dardenne brothers and Ms. Kim acknowledges their influence. Like the Belgian film, In Between Days is a coming-of-age tale with an unwavering first-person point of view. Unlike Rosetta, Aimie has a working mother that supports her. She takes classes to improve her English and hangs out with Tran, a casually mischiveous boy who doesn't seem to reciprocate Aimie's romantic interest in him. At the risk of being reductive, I'd say the film focuses on what happens to a close friendship when romance creeps in, finding one's way in a new culture, and how Aimie attempts to maintain a relationship of sorts with an absent father_Kim approaches the latter rather artfully by having Aimie "talk" to her father in voice-over while the static camera stares out the window into wintry urban landscapes.
In Between Days is consistently rigorous, honest and authentic. It amounts to a long chain of little moments and small gestures of great significance in the life of an observant and rather shy teen girl. It's an intimate and circumscribed portrait and an auspicious debut. The material is also, let's be frank, less than compelling enough for a segment of the moviegoing audience.