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The Butterfly
Tornado Alley
"Families should eat together"
The House of Us was the second full length film by director Yoon Ga Eun. This time instead of the universal theme of rejection and fitting in, she tackled how three little girls dealt with the instability of their family lives. I enjoyed this film but felt unlike the realistic portrayals of her first film that this one veered off into fantasy by the end.
Ha Na had just won the Good Classmate award at the end of the school year. Unfortunately, her family wasn’t terribly impressed. More than anything Ha Na wanted the family to eat dinner together and take a trip to the beach together. Her parents were far too busy and distracted to agree to a trip. When they were home the adults spent most of their time screaming at each other. Her older brother didn’t have the time or patience for Ha Na either. Ha Na ended up making a family of her own with two little girls she met who lived by themselves. Yu Mi and Yu Jin’s parents worked at a beach hotel and their uncle was supposed to be looking after them but he was absent most of the time. Ha Na cooked meals for the girls and helped them scare off potential renters for their apartment. They worked together to build a House of Us made of decorated boxes and egg cartons. Ha Na’s overwhelming desire for her family to take a trip together led the three children on a potentially dangerous adventure.
Yoon delved into fractured families and how children processed that information. Ha Na thought if only the family gathered around the table or on a vacation reconciliation could occur. Her little friends Yu Mi and Yu Jin believed if they kept someone from renting their apartment they wouldn’t have to move for the 8th time. Ha Na tried desperately to keep both homes and families intact in a way only a child would attempt.
As much as I liked the core story of the film I wasn’t as enamored with the narrative structure housing it. Yoon used a deux ex machina in the final quarter when Ha Na selfishly put the girls in danger despite having a logical way out. While the child actors were engaging, I never felt emotionally connected to them. House of Us didn’t shy away from the price dysfunctional parents have on children. Ha Na had to learn the painful lesson that families and made families can’t always stay together physically but can stay together in their hearts. Yoon Ga Eun crafts such interesting works of heartfelt art, I hope she is given the opportunity again in the near future.
3 August 2024
Ha Na had just won the Good Classmate award at the end of the school year. Unfortunately, her family wasn’t terribly impressed. More than anything Ha Na wanted the family to eat dinner together and take a trip to the beach together. Her parents were far too busy and distracted to agree to a trip. When they were home the adults spent most of their time screaming at each other. Her older brother didn’t have the time or patience for Ha Na either. Ha Na ended up making a family of her own with two little girls she met who lived by themselves. Yu Mi and Yu Jin’s parents worked at a beach hotel and their uncle was supposed to be looking after them but he was absent most of the time. Ha Na cooked meals for the girls and helped them scare off potential renters for their apartment. They worked together to build a House of Us made of decorated boxes and egg cartons. Ha Na’s overwhelming desire for her family to take a trip together led the three children on a potentially dangerous adventure.
Yoon delved into fractured families and how children processed that information. Ha Na thought if only the family gathered around the table or on a vacation reconciliation could occur. Her little friends Yu Mi and Yu Jin believed if they kept someone from renting their apartment they wouldn’t have to move for the 8th time. Ha Na tried desperately to keep both homes and families intact in a way only a child would attempt.
As much as I liked the core story of the film I wasn’t as enamored with the narrative structure housing it. Yoon used a deux ex machina in the final quarter when Ha Na selfishly put the girls in danger despite having a logical way out. While the child actors were engaging, I never felt emotionally connected to them. House of Us didn’t shy away from the price dysfunctional parents have on children. Ha Na had to learn the painful lesson that families and made families can’t always stay together physically but can stay together in their hearts. Yoon Ga Eun crafts such interesting works of heartfelt art, I hope she is given the opportunity again in the near future.
3 August 2024
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