Set in 1994 in Seoul, House Of Hummingbird is an astute, observant, and touching coming-of-age drama unfolding against a backdrop of social and economic change in South Korea. The film revolves around a quietly intelligent 14 year-old eighth grader named Eunhee (Ji-hu Park). Struggling to earn passing grades and having to endure verbal and even physical abuse at home, Eunhee spends her time searching for meaning in the friendships of her peers, in occasionally shoplifting, and in raucous karaoke bars.
But her life really begins to transform itself when she is obliged to study Chinese in ‘cram school’ with a worldly, elegant teacher, a woman named Yongji. Through her studies and conversations with Yongji after class, Eunhee begins to learn more about the world, about herself, and about being a woman in Korean society in a time of change.
In this assured feature debut, promising director Bora Kim examines, with intelligence and sensitivity, the joys, pains, and complexities of becoming an adult. She is a filmmaker with a very bright future. House of Hummingbird won the Grand Prix for Best Feature Film at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival Generation 14plus, and won NETPAC and Audience awards at the 23rd Busan International Film Festival. As this film demonstrates so engagingly, there’s more to contemporary Korean cinema than Parasite.
- Tom McSorley