Mujigae Review: A pretty depressing time at the movies

If you are looking for a lighthearted afternoon, Mujigae is absolutely the wrong choice. It is for people who don't mind a movie that feels like a cold, wet blanket on a Tuesday night. 🌧️

I think most people will find it a bit too much of a bummer. But if you like stories that get into the dirt of real life, you might get something out of it.

The story follows Yong-sik. He is a fisherman who looks like he has never had a day off in his life.

Jun Son plays him with this heavy, slumped-shoulder energy. He spends a lot of time just staring at his sick father, who has a cough that sounds like someone rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together.

The house they live in is tiny. You can practically feel the draft coming through the walls in every shot.

The movie really starts when Yong-sik goes to find a doctor. The doctor’s office is so clean and white compared to the muddy village, it almost looks like it belongs in another movie.

The doctor says he won't visit the father because Yong-sik has no money. It’s a brutal scene to watch because the doctor isn't even mean about it, he's just bored.

That is when things go sideways. Yong-sik kills the guy.

It’s not a fancy, choreographed movie murder. It’s just a desperate, messy scramble that feels very uncomfortable to look at.

After that, the movie jumps to prison. This part feels a little bit like it’s missing a few scenes.

The transition is so fast I actually wondered if I missed a reel. One minute he's in the office, the next he's behind bars.

I noticed the prison bars look a bit like they are made of painted wood if you look too closely. It’s a small thing, but it took me out of the moment for a second.

It reminds me a bit of the grit in Derelict, where being poor is basically treated like a crime itself. The movie doesn't try to make Yong-sik a hero, which I liked.

There is a woman in the film, So-yeong Kim, who has a very long scene just looking at the ocean. It goes on for about thirty seconds too long.

I get that it’s supposed to be emotional, but I just started wondering what she was thinking about for dinner. Sometimes silence is great, but here it just felt like the editor went for a coffee break.

The lighting in the village scenes is actually quite nice, though. It has this grey, misty look that makes everything feel damp.

It’s much more grounded than something like The Girl of My Dreams. This isn't a dream; it's more like a nightmare you can't wake up from.

I kept thinking about the father’s medicine. We never really see what was actually wrong with him, just that he was old and dying.

The movie is a bit like Doorsteps in how it focuses on these small, trapped lives. But it's much more violent in its heart.

Things I jotted down:

• The sound of the oars hitting the water is way too loud in the mix.
• The doctor’s hat is tiny. Like, distractingly small for his head. 🎩
• There is a dog in the background of one shot that looks very confused by the actors.
• The prison food looks better than the food Yong-sik had at home, which is a sad thought.
• One extra in the village scene is definitely looking straight at the camera.

The ending is... well, it’s an ending. It doesn't wrap everything up with a bow.

It just sort of stops. I don't know if I liked that or if I just wanted it to be over because it was so sad.

If you want to see a movie about the worst day of someone's life, this is it. It’s well-acted for the most part, especially Jun Son.

He has this way of looking at his hands like he doesn't recognize them anymore. It’s good stuff, even if it makes you want to go for a long walk afterwards to clear your head.

Just don't expect a rainbow. 🌈