Gull (Kim Mi-jo, 2020) (Patreon)

Gull is a rather simple film, although its depiction of the aftermath of sexual assault is undeniably disturbing. In her first feature film, Kim clearly wants to get one very important point across. Women in Korea who've been the victim of sex crimes are extraordinarily low on the culture's priority list, well below such considerations as decorum, business and economics, family reputation, the impact of the crime on the victim's male partner, and the maintenance of class hierarchies. As depicted in Gull, South Korea is not much better than Margaret Atwood's Gilead, and the film recalls Masahiro Kobayashi's Bashing in its contention that simply standing up and demanding one's rights is enough to make one an outcast in societies that value conformity and smooth social functioning.

O-bok (Jeong Ae-hwa) is 61 years old, and has worked as the manager of a fish market for over thirty years. She makes a good living, despite having no real education, but she and her husband, who works as a janitor, are decidedly working class, a fact that is emphasized early in the film when O-bok's eldest daughter In-ae (Go Seo-hee) arranges a dinner for her parents, fiance, and soon-to-be parents in law. Although the groom's folks are merely government bureaucrats, their education and class standing is in marked contrast with the sometimes vulgar O-bok.

In an incident that Kim wisely chooses to elide, O-bok is sexually assaulted after having some drinks with fellow employees and other fishmarket stall operators. The assailant is a seafood seller who is organizing the others in a protest against gentrification and the closure of the market for upscale development. With this choice, Kim makes her point clear as crystal. There is a place for leftism in Korean culture, but women's issues -- even something as horrible as a rape -- must take a backseat. Besides the potential political fallout, O-bok's claims are dismissed due to outright misogyny. Her own husband says to her, not once but twice, that "no woman can be raped unless she is into it."

The woman's two daughters end up helping her rather reluctantly, especially since In-ae is worried that her mother's crisis will disrupt her wedding plans. The overriding message is that O-bok has a responsibility to just get over it. As an older, working-class wife and mother, her duties are apparently to everyone but herself. If we recall that Gull is a debut feature, it's possible to excuse the rather claustrophobic, issue-oriented universe that Kim has created, one in which no one has a shred of decency or integrity. With her interesting approach to shooting and editing, Kim is obviously talented. Scenes often disguise or isolate characters in the frame, and shots often end just a beat or two before you expect them to. As a masters' thesis film (which it is), Gull is exceptional. As a sociopolitical statement, it's a bit over-articulated, which ultimately works against its aims.