[HanCinema's Film Review] "I Want to Know Your Parents"

Based on the Japanese theatrical play "Oya no Kao ga Mitai" written by Seigo Hatasawa and first performed in 2008, "I Want to Know Your Parents" is yet another Asian film dealing with the concept of bullying in schools, this time, though, focusing mostly on the parents rather than the perpetrators and the victims.

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The film begins in the most direct fashion, as we watch the parents of four students of the prestigious Haneum International Middle School, being called by the faculty for reasons yet unknown to them. Kang Ho-chang is a lawyer and father to Han-gyeol. Do Ji-yeol is the president of a hospital and father to Yoon-jae, who has just returned to Korea after studies in the US. Jeong, who is there with his wife, is a teacher in the school and father to I-deun. Park Moo-taek is the former chief of the National Police Academy and grandparent to Kim  Geon-woo, as much as the one who has actually raised the boy. The principal of the school and temporary homeroom teacher Song Jeong-wook inform them that a boy, Geon-woo, has just committed suicide and in his note, named the four aforementioned boys as the ones that forced him to commit it. While the kid is still alive, the four fathers try to use their influence to cover up what happened, and use every dirty trick in the book to avoid consequences for their sons. Teacher Song, however, is not ready to let the whole thing go, while soon, Geon-woo's mother, realizes what happens, and along with the aforementioned, turn to the press.

Kim Ji-hoon directs a film that is based on a rather interesting idea, which is what makes the first part of the movie particularly appealing. Especially the way he uses the four parents in order to make comments about the "pillars" of Korean (and any organized society for that matter) society, health, education, security, law, is rather smart, adding much depth to the narrative. The way that all are presented as corrupt is the most central remark here, but Kim also makes an additional one, of how the ways people choose to protect their children can actually harm the people around them, and even the society as a whole. Lastly, the usual accusation towards parents for the deeds of their kids is also included, but Kim goes a step further than the usual case where their main fault is not having time or will to get to know their siblings. Instead, he shows that they actually know, but prefer to turn blind or "sweep their deeds under the carpet", with eventually all parents in the film going towards this path. Furthermore, the treatment of the temporary teacher, both due to her capacity and the fact that she is a woman, rounds up the commentary here, in a rather rich context.

The second best aspect, if not the first, is the astonishing casting. Sol Kyung-gu as Kang Ho-chang and Oh Dal-soo as Do Ji-yeol are impressive as the main protagonists, even more so the latter, who emerges as an excellent villain, but the rest of the cast is equally star-studded. Chun Woo-hee as teacher Song Jeong-wook, Moon So-ri as Geon-woo's mom, Kim Hong-pa as Park Moo-taek and Ko Chang-seok as Teacher Jeong are equally rewarding to watch, with their interactions, particularly during the many stage play like scenes, being among the best parts of the movie.

At the same time though, and after the 45-minute mark more or less, the movie begins to falter intensely. Melodrama becomes a major point with people crying intensely, occasionally for no particular reason, in a desperate effort towards forced sentimentalism, while the story becomes more and more unrealistic as time passes, with the twists coming one after the other, changing the story significantly, essentially till the very end which combines these two negative factors in the most annoying fashion. Even worse is the court-room scene, where the hyperbole becomes ridiculous after a point, again in the script+melodrama combination, in a sequence that not even Sol Kyung-gu's performance can save.

On the other hand, the technical aspect of the movie is top-notch. Lee Chang-jae-I's cinematography captures the different locations with occasionally ominous, noir-like artistry, with the coloring and the lighting also helping the most in that regard. Sin Min-kyeong's editing results in a relatively fast pace that suits the overall aesthetics, while the flashbacks and the twists are well-placed within the narrative, even if they do not always make sense.

In the end, "I Want to Know Your Parents" ends up being a mixed bag, since its issues are quite significant, although the casting, the main idea and the production values deem it a film definitely above average.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"I Want to Know Your Parents" is directed by Kim Ji-hoon, and features Sol Kyung-gu, Oh Dal-soo, Chun Woo-hee, Moon So-ri, Ko Chang-seok, Kim Hong-pa. Release date in Korea: 2022/04/27.