Sopyonje

Im Kwon-taek's 1993 Korean film follows a family making their living in the thirties by singing pansori, the traditional narrative song. The father wants to pass his art to his children; but the country is changing and nobody listens to this music any more. The son runs away, the daughter stays, and what the father does to keep her is unforgivable. The film drew more than a million viewers in Korea, the first domestic film to do so, and revived interest in pansori. The idea at its centre is han, a suppressed pain, and how it finds form in art. The landscape photography is strong; one long sequence on a road runs through a song in a single take. The subject is heavy and the father's conduct disturbing. Who it's for: viewers interested in the history of Korean cinema and traditional music. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a fast narrative, or avoiding content involving abuse of a child.