Hannah Bang’s ‘SOAK’ (SXSW ’21) Short Film Review

Hannah Bang’s Master’s of Fine Arts thesis makes its way to the South by Southwest film festival this week. This graduate school alumnus’s short film, Soak, is one of the more dramatic projects that I have seen so far. The movie does not include any supernatural horrific monsters and comedic dialogue. Instead, the plot of the story is as follows:

16 year old Yeonsoo Tak meets her mother who ran away, intent on convincing her to return home. However, as the night wears on, Yeonsoo realizes that her mother has hopes of her own, something that had never occurred to Yeonsoo. Stuck between her mother’s new life plans and the pressures from her controlling father, Yeonsoo [faces] an impossible choice.

Family

Soak examines family dynamics as its female leads live in a South Korean patriarchal society. Mother (Chaewon Kim) is thinking of ways to break the bad news to her daughter Yeonsoo Tak (Do Eun Lee). Having found a new family, the woman is looking to leave her abusive husband but not necessarily abandoning her child. On Yeonsoo’s end, she feels her life is being torn asunder. She spends the night at a spa with her mother, followed by dinner at a restaurant. There, she is introduced to Mr. Kim (Sungyeon Kim), her mother’s “friend.” The teenager receives text messages from her father (Minjun Kwak), asking about her whereabouts. When she doesn’t respond, he verbally berates her.

Family is such a huge concept to be studied, especially in Asian society — in this case, Korea. Yeonsoo eventually discovers that Mr. Kim has his own family and is welcoming in her mother with open arms. Because she is young, the teenager makes a decision she believes will repair her broken family. However, no one is sure how the film really ends, leaving the viewer wondering about will happen next.

Other Themes

Another main focus in Soak is the women of the film — Yeonsoo and Mother. Their dialogue does discuss men Mr. Tak and Mr. Kim, there are some parts where the protagonists are able to pass the Bechdel Test. Mother has a great reason for making the choice that she does. Right from the start of the film, she tells her daughter, “A woman always needs to take care of herself.” This foreshadows something that she later suggests in truth, a life decision she must make for herself. This can be better said than done, but in any case, this is a healthy choice, at least on Mother’s part. (UPDATE: The writer-director clarified that the original Korean dialogue does not interpret entirely the same in English. The line does not necessarily mean protection for oneself but rather a need to tend to or care for oneself.)

I had earlier discussed with the filmmaker that technology isn’t given too much attention in her film. Yeonsoo and her mother use their phones to hide secrets from their relatives. Using this technology as an outlet for withholding the truth from others, we can say they are used as some sort of mask.

In an interview with the writer/director, I was told that the idea of being soaked is a theme that can be overlooked.

Discussion

Bang’s short film captures the raw emotion that may not be as potent in other genres. Yeonsoo comes off as relatable to other young persons going through rough patches in life. Maybe this is why the story is so much better to absorb. For many people in similar circumstances, Yeonsoo is a reflection of ourselves. Teenagers are often vulnerable and naive to what occurs in life, and we’re always looking for a way to correct mistakes that are not our own.

The filmmaker gathers an all-Korean cast of actors and a predominantly Asian crew to create a lovely short narrative. With fantastic camera work and editing on Heyjin Jun’s and Kelsey Lua’s behalves, respectively, we are looking at a film that puts life’s imperfections under certain lenses.

You can catch Hannah Bang and her short film Soak at the South by Southwest film festival this week! Additionally, to learn more about this film, stay tuned for my interview with the writer/director herself!

For more drama and short film-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Twitter (@TheCinemaSpot) and Instagram (@thecinemaspot_). Also, you can now find us on Facebook (TheCinemaSpotFB)!