Kim Bora’s House of Hummingbird is a gentle, engrossing tale of a 14-year-old girl named Eun-hee (Park Ji-hoo) coming of age in 1994 South Korea amidst the rapidly expanding infrastructure of Seoul. The film is not specifically an autobiography of Bora’s life, but she definitely weaves her own experiences into this delicately constructed tapestry of self-discovery. Eun-hee is a quiet soul who solemnly internalizes a seeming lack of importance in the world. Our first exposure to her is a scene where she gets locked out of her apartment as she yells for someone to let her inside to no avail. This scene is a perfect representation of how insignificant she feels in the grand scheme of things. When she is around her family, things are no picnic; her dad (Jeong In-gi) feels she is undisciplined and odd as he focuses all of his familial aspirations for success on her abusive older brother. This behavior is not foreign to Eun-hee’s passive mother (Seung-Yun Lee), whose deadbeat brother has recently returned to apologize for squandering all of her opportunities. Sexism was the norm at this time, and things have not improved as much as they should have in the interim.
When Eun-hee is not working long hours in her parent’s rice cake shop, she is not receiving too much in the way of positive reinforcement at school. Her stern teacher leads the class in chants demonizing delinquents who spend time at karaoke when they should be aspiring to go to Seoul National University. Eun-hee is not a terrible student, but she has a greater interest in other things such as drawing comics. She feels stifled in a world where creativity is not encouraged, and her peers regularly sneer at her in the typical way classist youths do. She does have a best friend named Yu-ri (Seol Hye-in) who comes the closest to understanding what she is going through, herself baring battle scars from home. There is also her awkward boyfriend (Jeong Yoon-seo), who at least allows her to feel some affection in this cold world. If you are lucky, there is someone who comes into your life that helps you expand your universe and feel more like yourself than you ever have before. For Eun-hee, that person is Young-ji (Kim Sae-byuk), a youthful new female tutor who actually sees Eun-hee for the complex, fascinating individual that has been dimmed by the world. The friendship between these two is a highlight of this deeply moving film.
House of Hummingbird does a beautiful job of balancing the modernization of Seoul as an interesting dichotomy to the burgeoning self-actualization of Eun-hee. Bora lays little breadcrumbs throughout the film that paints the story as important to its time period, but universal, all the same. There is a real-life tragedy that is touched upon in the latter half of the film that delivers a powerful blow while keeping things grounded in the personal. All roads lead back to the emotionally in-flux Eun-hee, who is feeling empowered for the first time by Young-ji. She makes sure that Eun-hee is aware of how valuable she is as a young woman, and she makes her promise to rage against the forces that strive to keep her in the role of a second-class citizen. Swirl this decree in with the heightened emotions of a young lady whose sexuality lacks definition, and you get an emotionally wrenching story that deftly handles both sweet moments and bitter heartache. The film runs a bit on the lengthy side at 138 minutes, but some of these slower moments allow you to sink fully into the character for a more cathartic payoff once you reach your final destination.
As elegantly executed as this story is, none of it would work as well as it does if it were not for the natural, devastating performance from Park Ji-hoo as Eun-hee. She does not opt to go showy with her performance, outside of a necessary tantrum in the core of the movie, but you can read the emotions on her face like a book. Eun-hee is not a character that is always in the right; her best friend points out that she is often very self-centered, but you are always rooting for her to catch a break. The rest of the cast is doing excellent work, as well, with special attention paid towards Kim Sae-byuk as the effervescent tutor. The film is also a visual delight, as Bora and cinematographer Guk-hyun Kang create a hazy, gorgeous dreamscape that makes you feel like you are invading a foreign memory. House of Hummingbird is an intensely intimate film that creeps under your skin and takes you on an emotional journey filled with interesting characters and lovely performances.
Video Quality
House of Hummingbird comes to Blu-Ray via Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The film picked up several wins for Best Cinematography on the festival circuit, and this presentation showcases it beautifully. The level of clarity and detail is very impressive. The suitably 90s production design is made all the more rich by the subtle aspects that come through in the image. Texture on clothes and furniture are readily apparent. During a sequence in Eun-hee’s family’s restaurant, you feel like you could practically reach out and grab some of the food off the screen. The color palette is a bit subdued, but there are a few instances for colors to thrive on screen. Black levels are sufficiently deep, and skin tones are natural. There are no apparent instances of compression or other digital nuisances. This is a stellar presentation!
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original Korean that is more than sufficient. Dialogue sounds crystal clear situated primarily in the center channel. The surround effects are subtle, but very cleverly mixed in a way that brings the environments to life, be it in nature or in the home. The lovely score from Matija Strniša envelops you in a really comforting way in the surrounds. There is not much in the film to really engage the low end, but there are moments that bring a little extra vibration to the proceedings. Overall, there is nothing lacking with this track.
Special Features
- Trailers: The teaser, Berlin and standard trailers are provided here in high definition. All three do a beautiful job of setting up the film without giving anything away.
Final Thoughts
House of Hummingbird is the latest in a long string of incredible South Korean films that have crossed over in a larger way to our shores. While not as dark as something like Parasite or Burning, this film provides an equal level of evocative storytelling prowess that will stick with you long after the credits have stopped rolling. Well Go USA has provided a fantastic A/V presentation for this film that deserves as much. Those who appreciate thoughtful, intimate dramas should consider this a must-own for their collection. Highly Recommended
House of Hummingbird is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Well Go USA has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
