Review

A Petal was seen as shocking at the time of its 1996 release, and it is still shocking to view it almost 30 years later. The impact it had in 1996 had to do with its director Jang Sun-woo. Even with the arrival of the Kim Youngsam administration in South Korea, mainstream cinema was still reluctant to reflect on the events that occurred in 1980 in Gwangju. Jang, who was considered an enfant terrible of his era, tackled Gwangju head-on using an approach that no one had expected. This film presents a young girl as a scapegoat of her times and those in power. After that girl is thrust into situations of extreme anguish, the closing monologue by actor Sul Kyung-gu begins with the words, "Even if you happen to see bare flesh between the folds of that torn and stained skirt, bow your head and pass by as if you saw nothing." In A Petal, the suffering of a young woman is transformed into suffering for the viewer. Perhaps no one but Jang Sun-woo could have approached the topic of Gwangju with such intensity. But after the passage of so many years, what seems freshly shocking and captivating upon reviewing is the performance by young actor Lee Jung-hyun. What was going through her mind as a 15-year-old playing a part symbolic of the ordinary citizen or the masses? Why did such a brilliant actor decide a few years later to change professions and become a singer? A Petal remains a masterwork in Korean cinema history, and while Lee certainly accounts for at least half of that, one cannot help being curious to hear what she thinks as she looks back on it now. (MOON Seok)

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