South Korean director Shin Su-won’s (Glass Garden) Hommage, which was part of the just-concluded Tokyo International Film Festival, tosses several impactful issues like women’s position in society and the general slide in movie culture. Both have been dealt with a lot of feeling, and through actress Lee Jung-eun, who was part of the ensemble cast of Cannes Palm dÓr clincher Parasite.
Ji-wan (Lee) has just released her third film, Ghost Man, and it has not done well at the box office, leaving her disillusioned and distressed. Adding to this is her marriage, which seems to be going nowhere, and she needs money to move forward. So, she becomes a restorer, taking up an assignment to clean up A Woman Judge, which is all set to have its 50th anniversary screening at a local festival. She goes hunting for the cast and crew of the movie, so that she may be able to piece together the damaged work.
Hommage is actually a movie that came in 1962, but Shin takes artistic liberty to shape her’s the way she wants to. Lee goes hunting to get deeper into A Woman Judge, made by a pioneer woman helmer, Jae-won Hong, who died in 1999. It was her third creation, and Lee feels an affinity to her. She imagines her third feature may as well be her last like Hong’s.
Lee wants to go beyond restoration; she wants to give Hong a place of pride in the legacy of cinema. And Lee realises that the picture has not changed much in half a century, and her position in the film world, as well as in society, continue to remain as they were during Hong’s life. When Lee finds a line in Hong’s script saying “You will vanish someday, like I did”, it seems scary and almost prophetic.
Leisurely shot, Hommage appears to be following Lee’s own stagnant predicament. Yes, Hommage has twists, but they are never presented with any great hurry. The work is a tribute to artistic excellence. Also, a magnificent performance by Lee adds to our enjoyment.
(Author, commentator and movie critic Gautaman Bhaskaran has covered the Tokyo International Film Festival for several years)
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