Letters from the Shattered Years
What would it be if anything had bloomed from where everything collapsed? Amid the pouring out of irreducible beings, some endure time and space that are only shattered and torn apart.
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Letters from the Shattered Years, directed by Oh Minwook, is an experimental documentary that may appear enigmatic and intricate. It features narration of letters in Chinese juxtaposed with seemingly unrelated images. Therefore, knowing a few facts beforehand would enhance the viewing experience. The film is deeply related to the director’s recent works, Letters to Buriram (2019) and Eternal Brightness (2022). In it, the person exchanging letters with Oh Minwook is Hsiao Kaitzu, who was a producer for Letters to Buriram. According to their correspondence, they had planned to collaborate on another film following Letters to Buriram, a documentary set in the Kinmen islands between China and Taiwan. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project became unfeasible, leading Oh Minwook to proceed with Eternal Brightness independently. Eternal Brightness, based on the novel Eye of the Night by Cho Kap-Sang, recounts the Kukmin-bodoyeonmaeng incident in Gimhae Jinyeong area, where an elementary school teacher named Kim Young-Myeong was sexually assaulted and murdered by auxiliary police officers under the pretext of punishing communists during the Korean War. These details are all that is available, yet the contents of the letters in Letters from the Shattered Years are not completely incomprehensible. The recurring backward-moving images and the persistent discussions about time indicate the director’s intent to trace connections from the past to the present and future. The film also contemplates how to transcend the backward flow of time, whether in political or literary terms. Even if you find yourself drifting into completely different thoughts while listening to their letters, it would still be a valid way to appreciate the film. (MOON Seok)
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OH Minwook
