Not everyone is lucky to have been raised by two parents, much less their own ones. Christina Yoon’s touching short film Motherland examines what it would be like to have never known one’s parents, and the emotions one may experience upon actually encountering them. It’s a delicate little slice of cinema that speaks volumes in hushed tones.
A Korean raised in America, Leah (Tiffany Chu) returns to her home country to find her birth mother. Problem is, the woman may not want to be found. When she finally comes upon someone who may know her whereabouts, Leah is met with resistance, even anger. “Why was I given up?” she demands at one point. The callous response will catch the viewer off-guard, just as it does the film’s protagonist. “You are dead,” she’s told at another point. “You understand? You’re dead.”
There is an elegance to this film, a contemplative vibe that’s difficult to shake. Yoon certainly possesses the technical chops – along with cinematographer Giorgos Valsamis, she creates beautifully simple shots, such as the symmetrical power lines studding the landscape or Leah biking along a filtered-sun terrain – but she also knows how to read between the lines, tell a compelling story in a lyrical, succinct, almost haiku-like manner.
Much hinges on the strength of the central performance, and Chu doesn’t disappoint, holding the viewer rapt in a near-wordless feat of acting. Despite the lack of vocalization, she, and the film, say quite a lot about our need to reconnect with our parents, our heritage, and how it haunts us.
“To all who have searched and never found, To all who have found and lost,” proclaims the final title card, summarizing the film as eloquently as Yoon assembles it all together.
