I recently finished watching Glory and My Name and was searching for something along those lines. Nothing caught my interest, so as a last-ditch attempt, I just entered the tag for bullying and browsed through the search results until I came across Elegant Lies.

Elegant Lies is the story of a family that comprises of a mother and two teenage daughters, Manji and Cheonji. Their world is rocked when the youngest, Cheonji, commits suicide leaving her mother and older sister reeling. The movie largely follows a non-linear narrative as it delves into the story of Cheonji and the series of events that drove her to the edge.

Losing a loved one can really throw one off, especially if it's sudden. So wrapped up we are in our own lives that we tend to miss the signs or dismiss them momentarily, promising ourselves that we're going to check up on that one friend, that one acquaintance, or call up a family member that's been acting off lately. But before you know it, it's too late. Sometimes, things don't even feel any different, which tends to hit you harder. We see Manji, the older sister, grappling with this as she sets out to find the truth behind what might've driven her younger sister to take such a drastic step. As she goes through Hwayeon, her sister's friend, or Mira, her best friend's little sister who was in the same class as Cheonji.

Through Sangbak, their eccentric next-door neighbor that they gain after Hyunsook and Manji are forced to move following Cheonji's death, Manji learns things about her sister from this stranger that are in complete contrast to what she knew of her. Here, Sangbak expresses a point that is still relevant even today; we are more comfortable confiding in people we don't know as opposed to the ones we do because they won't subject us to scrutiny or wield those precious bits of ourselves that you shared with them like weapons to hurt you. As Hwayeon did. As Mira did.

Bullying doesn't just have to be physical confrontations or stealing someone's lunch or precious possessions. Sometimes it can be one's obliviousness or a thoughtless comment made in the heat of the moment. We all think we're good people and strive to make the world and others think so as well, not realizing that for some people, we're the actual worst. The realization that we often have trouble coming to terms with, as seen in Hwayeon's case, when she starts skipping school, stealing dishes, and badmouthing her parents' restaurant so they'll be forced to move apartments instead of confronting the possibility that she might be complicit in her friend's death.

The movie explores the themes of bullying, regret, friendship, isolation, grief, healing and familial relationships in various ways. Despite the sensitive issues and topics tackled here, this movie was quite watchable. It wasn't too intense that you had to stop, but it wasn't too lighthearted that it failed to deliver the message it was going for.