RIFLE RANGE BOY: It is the only way they knew to survive!

Ode to My Father (국제시장, Korean, 2014)

You see a grumpy old man seeming to be hitting out at everything around him. You ask yourself, what is wrong with him? Was he always like that? What life event changed him?

If one were to look deep enough, he would discover a reason for the way he behaves. The old man would have his own long life story to share. In his narration, one would find aches, joy, disappointments, achievements, unfulfilled ambitions and unbelievable feats that would make his life worth the while. He must be lethargic fulfiling all his duties in life. Perhaps, his self-sacrifice is not appreciated. He is taken for a fool for still living in the past and being sentimental about trivialities that mean little to the newer generation.

'Ode to My Father' is South Korean's fourth highest grossing film of all time. Even though, filmmakers may look at this production as a 'low-class tearjerker', low brow with the dearth of the finesse of modern filmmaking, viewers appreciate its nostalgia component. Like 'Forrest Gump', it infuses many small snippets that may pluck the string of the hearts of the ordinary Korean. The Hungnam Evacuation of 1950 where US Navy evacuated thousands of North Koreans to the South forms the backdrop of the melancholia as a young family is separated by the stampede of escaping refugees in the cold Korean winters. Father and daughter are left behind. The mother with her three children reaches Busan to live with her sundry shop owner sister-in-law. The eldest of the children, Deok-Soo, a boy, takes charge of the family as ordained by the father.

Evacuation of 100,000 over refugees at Hungnam

The film is all about his escapade/hardships of life as Deok-Soo, roughs it out in Busan (Gukje Market which was set by wartime refugees) and later during the trying times of the young nation of South Korea. He tugs it out the coal mines of Germany and the landmines of warring Vietnam. All along with the film, viewers' interest is rekindled with the introduction of characters prominent in the history of South Korea, namely, Chung Ju-Yung, as seen as the future founder of Hyundai; Andre Kim, eccentric fashion designer and Nam Jin, a K-pop singer. The main driving force is to protect the family.

The film strikes a chord with the older as well as the younger generations. The older ones who lived through the Korean War may relive their youth and appreciate their bittersweet experiences during the formative years of the country as it struggled through with handouts of the US and goodwill of the first world country. To the youngsters, it would be an eye-opener. They would be made to realise that Korean culture is not just K-Pop, plastic surgery and Winter Sonata dramas. The hard work and sacrifice of the previous generation would be appreciated.

Perhaps, when you see another grumpy old man or one fixed in his peculiar way of doing things, appreciate the fact it was just their way of doing things to survive and to bring home the bacon for their loved ones.