The House of Us

Yoon Ga-eun's 2019 Korean film follows Ha-na, twelve, whose parents fight constantly. Over the summer she meets two sisters who have to move often; the three become friends and try to build an order of their own. The idea is children constructing the notion of home themselves. Adults barely appear; decisions, meals and daily arrangements are entirely in the three girls' hands and the narrative stays at their scale. Yoon Ga-eun is skilled at working with child performers; the speech is natural and the camera at eye level. The narrative does not claim the children can solve the problem, but neither does it belittle their effort. Who it's for: those who like Korean independent cinema and child-centred narratives. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a family drama told from an adult view; the film deliberately refuses it.