Korean-Canadian director Jerome Yoo has done something astonishing with his debut feature, Mongrels. He’s managed to provide enormously divergent points of view from his three central characters, a family of South Korean immigrants. Even though they’re living under the same roof, the film’s “chapters” disclose how they perceive the world and cope with grief in wildly different ways.
Sonny Lee (Jae-Hyun Kim) is a widowed father who has moved to small-town British Columbia in the 1990s with his teenage son and young daughter. He finds work killing wild dogs that are threatening the prosperity of local residents.
“We journeyed over the wide ocean to start over and pursue a dream,” Sonny says on his knees in a forest. “Please forgive me for what I must do.”
Sonny feels that he’s living in a cruel world. Through his eyes, the white townsfolk are untrustworthy and his son Hajoon (Da-Nu Nam) needs to learn how to become a man. Moreover, Sonny demands filial piety in a land where teenagers enjoy hanging out with their friends.
Conversely, through the eyes of Hajoon the neighbours are friendly and helpful whereas his father is something else. Meanwhile, daughter Hana (Sein Jin) dreams of reconnecting with her mother.
In the midst of this are wild dogs, who appear in various guises. Sometimes, they are vicious. At other times, they are curious and gentle. And their repeated barking creates an unsettling mood, mirroring the family dynamics.
Lawrence Le Lam’s editing of canines roaming through the forest even reveals the world from the dogs’ perspective. This, as well as the lighting, reinforce the vibe, which alternates between gloomy and effervescent.
Mongrels wins FIRESCI Prize
Initially, Mongrels is highly disturbing. After all, who likes to watch a movie in which a central character kills dogs for a living? But as this sometimes surreal and often dreamy story unfolds, it becomes increasingly compelling, thanks to the Korean-speaking actors’ authentic performances. Subtle music by Jude Shih and Tae-Young Yu add an emotional dimension.
The Director’s Guild of Canada gave Yoo its Horizon Award for an emerging director at last year’s Vancouver International Film Festival. Mongrels also won the FIRESCI Prize as well as a special jury mention for the cast at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
Yoo, who divides his time between Vancouver and Seoul, is clearly a director on the rise. And his film offers further proof that Vancouver is home to a new bumper crop of talented indie filmmakers with East Asian ancestry. Whether it’s Yoo, Anthony Shim, Mayumi Yoshida, Thea Loo or Meredith Hama-Brown (and there are others), they are all setting an impressive standard for telling affecting stories about characters coming to terms with their Asian cultural identity in Canada. That’s worth celebrating!
Watch the trailer (above) for Mongrels.
Mongrels is available on video-on-demand across Canada and the U.S., starting on Tuesday (May 20). It will be screened at the Paradise Theatre on Toronto on May 31 with director Jerome Yoo in attendance. Mongrels is nominated for Best Original Screenplay and the John Dunning Best First Feature Film Award at the Canadian Screen Awards. It includes English subtitles for the Korean dialogue.
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