Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Park Jeong-min, Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Hyun-been, Im Seong-jae, Han Ji-hyun
Country of Origin: South Korea
Running time: 1h 42m
Celebrated master seal engraver Lim Yeong-gyu (Kwon Hae-hyo) is hailed as a living Korean miracle.
An expert craftsman who was born blind but overcame numerous obstacles to carve out a reputation as an expert in his field.
Yet when a documentary crew begins filming his life story dark secrets emerge.
The skeletal remains of the severely visually impaired tradesman’s wife Jung Young-hee (Shin Hyun-been) are unexpectedly found after 40 years.
His son Lim Dong-hwan (Park Jeong–min) – who believed his mother abandoned him as a baby – receives a call from the police with the chilling discovery.
Overly pushy documentary producer Kim Su-jin (Han Ji-hyun) seizes on the opportunity to make her name and delve deeper into a grisly story which she believes will attract more viewers.
Despite his initial scepticism Dong-hwan hesitantly agrees to accompany Su-jin as she arranges interviews with his mother’s former work colleagues and boss.
Broken up into chapters the interviews paint a portrait of a woman savagely mocked and ridiculed for her looks in a low paying job as a seamstress assistant in a textile factory near the Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul.
Flashbacks depict scenes of intense cruelty as Young-hee is labelled ‘dung ogre’ (a possible subtitle mistranslation instead of ‘ddong’ – an informal word for poo in Korean) by unsympathetic coworkers after being caught short while faced with a lengthy line for a single toilet.
Smarmy factory head Baek Ju-sang (Im Seong-jae) insists on taking photos of all the female employees who work in dingy, cramped conditions.
In this brutal atmosphere the downtrodden Young-hee meets stamp engraver Yeong-gyu (played in the 1970s scenes by Park Jeong-min) and the pair establish an unlikely connection before it all inevitably unravels.
It’s a sombre affair, bleak, and unnerving with little to no room for sentiment.
This is about as far away from a feel-good story as you can get.
Everything unfolds at quite a slow pace which unfortunately takes away a large degree of suspense.
There is the expectation of a hammer blow revelation, yet every development is understated rather than overblown. Perhaps it’s better this way, a slow drip of information instead of a flood, otherwise it might feel incongruous or forced.
We don’t get swept away by a series of shocking reveals until a climactic, emotional gut punch.
Made on a relatively miniscule budget of ₩200 million ($140,000) director Yeon Sang-ho – known for smash hit Train to Busan (2016) and Peninsula (2020) – does not shy away from posing tough questions.
In an adaptation of his own graphic novel, he challenges the unrealistically lofty standards of beauty in a country where appearance really matters.
In flashbacks scenes set during a period of unprecedented economic growth Yeon also takes aim at those who exploit others while making hasty, uninformed judgements based on disability and looks.
It has been reported that Park Jeong-min took the dual role of Dong-hwan and a young Yeong-gyu without payment. Whether he received any compensation or not there is no evidence that it affected his stellar performance.
As the profoundly affected son learning his tragic family history, and the blind stamp engraver attempting to survive in a deeply prejudicial environment, he displays compassion, vulnerability, sorrow, and regret all while switching characters.
Kwon Hae-hyo is a compelling presence as the skilful dojang maker with a troubled past, while Han Ji-hyun’s portrayal of an opportunistic producer and Im Seong-jae’s depiction of an unsavoury factory boss also deserve credit.
It is something of a bugbear that movie titles lose meaning and sometimes credibility when changed from Korean to English. The original Korean name of Face would have been far more appropriate and sensible than The Ugly which does not really fit or make much sense.
Nevertheless, it’s a quietly powerful, dolorous film on how appearances can be highly deceptive.
@skasiewicz.bsky.social
Stephen Kasiewicz 