I Can Speak

I Can Speak, directed by Kim Hyun-seok, is a South Korean comedy drama addressing the theme of Korean "comfort women" forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II; it stars Na Moon-hee as Ok-bun, a stubborn elderly woman who has filed 8,000 complaints with her local government over twenty years. Her reason for wanting to learn English turns out to be deeply personal, tied to real testimony given before the US Congress by comfort women survivors in 2007. The film opened on September 21, 2017, and drew 3,283,073 viewers; Na Moon-hee won Best Actress at the Blue Dragon, Baeksang, and Grand Bell Awards for her role. Who it's for: anyone curious about a Korean film inspired by real congressional testimony, framing a historical trauma within a comedy, that earned its lead actress three major awards. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a purely light, entertainment focused comedy, since the film is grounded in heavy historical trauma.