Tribute to Ahn Sung-ki
As actor and person, Ahn was towering figure in Korean film
Ahn Sung-ki, center, in a scene from "The Taebaek Mountains" (1994) / Hankook Ilbo File
Ahn Sung-ki, a great actor, died recently. If you know who he is, you are a fan of Korean movies. If you don’t know who he is, but you have seen a few Korean movies, you’ve probably seen him. He was a great actor who appeared in several interesting and meaningful roles. I am not a student of cinema, either Korean or American, but I enjoyed his work in two movies I’d like to recommend.
The first is "The Taebaek Mountains" (1994), based on a major multi-volume novel of the same name, and the second is the 1996 film "Festival." Both were directed by Im Kwon-taek. Others may well remember him for "Two Cops" (1993) or "Silmido" (2003) or "Radio Star" (2006).
"The Taebaek Mountains" is the story of a rural town torn apart by the divisions in society between communist and conservative factions at the outset of the 1950-53 Korean War. The movie calmly portrays the appeal each side held for its followers. It answers the question, “Why would anyone want to be a communist in Korea in 1948?” Given the oppression of the farming class by members of the land-owning classes, it shows how some were attracted by antiestablishment leftists. It also shows how ruthless the communists were and the violence of the anti-communists. Ahn plays the role of a schoolteacher caught in the middle, simultaneously suspected and respected by both sides, who manages to survive. The last scene shows him walking away as the town burns down behind him.
The opening scene shows the public execution of a suspected communist as the survivors flee to the mountains. At the beginning of the war, the communists are temporarily victorious but they lose as the war progresses and are driven out by nationalists. But the story is not a simple story of winners and losers. It’s the story of people caught up in violence, sometimes through no choice of their own, but because of who they love or are related to. The lead communist and the chief of police are on opposite sides, but are brothers.
The leader of the communists was played by Kim Myung-gon, who also had an important role as a pansori singer in Im's famed 1993 film “Seopyeonje." In spite of playing two very terrible people on film, he went on to become the minister of culture, sports and tourism from 2006 to 2007.
Oh Jung-hae, who plays a blind singer in "Seopyeonje" was also in "The Taebaek Mountains" (1994) in the role of a young shaman caught between the factions. She also appears alongside Ahn in "Festival."
Actor Ahn Sung-ki, right, and Oh Jung-hae star in "Festival." Hankook Ilbo file
"Festival” is a funny title for a movie about a funeral. Ahn plays a writer living in Seoul who gets word that his mother, living on the southern coast, has died. IMDb lists the movie as a comedy, but it is much, much more than that. It deals with changes in Korean culture through the window of the funeral. As with all funerals, it brings a family together, sometimes as a kind of healing, sometimes stirring old resentments and problems.
The problem that surfaces for this family is an illegitimate niece, a wild bar girl from Seoul, who shows up uninvited. The niece is played by Oh. Her interactions with her successful uncle, played by Ahn, give the movie its tension and redemptive ending.
We see its dark, subtle humor in the first scene. The writer gets a call to say that his mother has died. He turns to his wife and tells her to go to the bank and get some money. She dutifully asks, “How much?" Ahn’s character says, “All of it. They depend on us.”
At the funeral, Oh’s character, the wild niece, lays out offerings on the table. Amid all the traditional food nicely arrayed on the altar, she adds some Johnnie Walker Black Label Whisky, Snickers candy bars, imported grapefruit and some beef jerky.
"Festival" has many layers. The writer is writing a children’s book for his daughter, who really doesn’t understand her grandmother's death. We see all the different parts of funeral preparation, in what feels like brief asides. It’s very cleverly done, showing Confucianism and Buddhism in practice at a traditional funeral.
So thank you, Ahn Sung-ki. I don’t know all your work, but these two films helped me in the classroom as I taught my classes on Korean culture, for which I thank you and wish you well on your journey.
Mark Peterson (frogoutsidethewell@gmail.com) is a professor emeritus of Korean studies at Brigham Young University in Utah. The views expressed here are his own.