Han Gong-ju (2013)
I went into this completely cold. I knew nothing of the plot or circumstances of the film. I'm not going to give any major spoilers below, but will have to frame the discussion, so if you haven't seen it and want to go in blind (like I did, and very much recommend you doing as well), then read no further.
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The movie starts off with a group of teachers surrounding Gong-ju, a teen girl about 16. Everyone is obviously distraught. "It's not your fault" they tell her, but it is soon obvious that she isn't welcome in her school any more. So her teacher schleps her off to another city and calls in a favor to get the principal of the new school to enroll her as a student. Since her mother and father are obviously absent from the picture, he convinces his mother to take her in to live with her. The teacher's mother is not real keen on the idea.
I don't think I need to disclose any more actual plot points. The viewer is not clued in to exactly what Gong-ju did, until the movie is ready to reveal that. Sure, there are hints at the nature of the situation, but we don't know the details. We follow Gong-ju as she tries to get on with her high school life, and little by little the film opens itself up to us. And with every revelation, we get to know (and like) Gong-ju more and more.
Unlike the stereotypical circumstance of the school kids not accepting, or making fun, or bullying the "new kid," several of the female students are intrigued by her and try honestly to befriend her. Gong-ju revelas some talents that make the girls like and respect her even more. Gong-ju vascillates between accepting the friendship and setting rigid boundaries that test those friendships.
The last half hour of the movie is some of the most powerful cinema I can recall. We've gotten to know and love Gong-ju...and...and...well, it angers me to think how Korean society obviously considers girls. Like something to be discarded, I guess. Whether as a toy or a piece of trash. Once used, just throw it away. This applies to her parents, (some) of her peers, school administrators, and a large number of other adults. Even her teacher, who does show her kindness, seems to be motivated by getting rid of the problem by hiding it than by offering real help. Other adults in a position of authority behave despicalby. There is a scene at the school that is just devastating. When the dad shows up, and we finally realize why, it is doubly devastsating. The musical cue at the end is the final straw. I felt like someone reached into my gut and yanked emotions out of me I didn't know I had.
What makes it even more effective is that the movie is based on a true story. This really happened. I didn't know that going in to the movie, but a few wiki links I researched after watching made it quite obvious that the way Korean society was portrayed in the movie was 100% accurate as to how the girl was treated. This angers me.
One further thing to note: the movie was quite confusing in that it bounced between "present" and "flashback" with no real cues that was happening. I had to rewind and rewatch some scenes b/c at some points I was very confused about who Gong-ju was talking to and what their role was. Helpful hint: When Gong-ju is working at the 7-11; that's the past. The other store is the present. When she's talking with her long-haired friend, that's the past. The short-haired girl is the present. If you keep that straight, you can suss out the rest, but you really have to be paying attention. That's the only reason for the half-star deduction.
4.5 stars
SITENOISE MOVIE ALERT 
