Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
'Way Back Home' follows rape survivor's path to healing from trauma
A scene from “Way Back Home” / Courtesy of Monsoon Pictures
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The movie “Way Back Home” focuses on a rape survivor's internal journey to put her life back together after the traumatic assault.
In the film, actress Han Woo-yeon plays Jung-won, a rape survivor who is married to a loving husband, Sang-woo (Jeon Suk-ho), and is living a normal day-to-day life. One day, she receives a call from the police who says that the perpetrator who raped her 10 years ago has been arrested
However, Jung-won feels hesitant to tell her husband about the case, fearing his reaction. The couple's relationship becomes awkward and distant at first, but as Jung-won's traumatic past is revealed, Sang-woo comforts her, helping her to overcome the trauma.
Director Park Sun-joo said she wanted to focus on the protagonist's path to healing from trauma. “I decided to make a film about rape survivor after watching news that a perpetrator was caught 10 years after committing the crime with the help of DNA testing,” she said during a recent press conference for the film.
The aftermath of rape can be emotional and disorienting, but the director doesn't deliver the story provocatively. She avoids showcasing acts of violence or revenge, and instead focuses on the protagonist's internal journey.
A poster for “Way Back Home” / Courtesy of Monsoon Pictures
With immersive storytelling, “Way Back Home” invites its audience to assume the perspective of Jung-won and feel anything but detached from her deeply emotive story. This allows the audience to have enough empathy to think of what she might be experiencing.
Without much action or many characters, the film attracts the audience's full attention. Instead of bursting with anger, the protagonist keeps her complex emotions such as pain, humiliation and resentment bottled inside.
Silence emphasizes Jung-won's intense emotions. Rather than dialogue, the protagonist's feelings and will to overcome the trauma are often conveyed through her actions. For instance, there is a scene in which Jung-won, a swimming instructor, sinks and floats in a pool. It displays a sinking feeling as if someone was pulling her heart down.
Han's heart-wrenching performance delivers an unsettling portrait of trauma that hunts her even a decade later. Jung-won feels hesitant to talk about her rape as a teen and how it made her feel despite the fact that there is not a single member in her family who erroneously discredits her.
Thanks to the wide support, she slowly learns to open up about her trauma to the family who supports her without judgment. The touching marital relationship between Han and Jeon is showcased with careful nuance. Thanks to Sang-woo, Jung-won is able to let go of the psychological defense mechanism and cope with her distress.
“Way Back Home” is currently playing in theaters.