South Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho first caught international attention in 2016, when he unleashed the unique zombie horror of Train to Busan upon the world. From there, he built out his zombie-infested franchise with the animated prequel Seoul Station and the souped-up action movie Peninsula. For his latest, The Ugly, Yeon leaves the monsters behind, but he’s created a chilling thriller all the same.
Like Train to Busan, his latest centers on a father and child. But rather than the workaholic businessman learning to dedicate himself to his love-starved young daughter (specifically so she won’t be turned into a literal ankle-biter), The Ugly explores the relationship between another single, hardworking father and the grown son following in his footsteps. However, the lessons learned from this family story are less hopeful than those from Train to Busan.
So, brace yourself.
What’s The Ugly about?
Yeon adapted his own debut graphic novel, Face, for the screenplay, which centers on Dong-hwan (Park Jeong-min), a fortysomething Korean man who works with his blind father, Yeong-gyu (Kwon Hae-hyo), a renowned engraver. His whole life, Dong-hwan has been at his father’s side, watching how he overcame adversity and the mockery of others to become not just a success in his business but also a celebrity, heralded by newspapers as a “living miracle” for his engraving skills.
Actually, Dong-hwan is pretty over all this fawning, which is where The Ugly begins. A TV producer named Su-jin (Han Ji-hyeon), seemingly the latest in a long line, is pestering Yeong-gyu for an interview and B-roll footage, when Dong-hwan gets a very strange phone call. The authorities have found a pile of bones buried on a mountainside. The ID card found with them suggests they belong to his mother, Young-hee, who ran off four decades ago.
With the help of the story-hungry Su-jin, Dong-hwan seeks to understand not just what befell his mother, but also who she was — and if she was ugly.
The Ugly calls into question what “ugly” means.
All Dong-hwan knows about his mother is that she left him and his father. Whatever else might have been shared has been unspoken between them. But with the confirmation of her death, others in her life have plenty to say. Long-lost family members, former co-workers at a clothing factory, and her old boss are all quick to agree on one thing: She was ugly.
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Masquerading as a writer for the TV documentary, Dong-hwan is able to get an unfiltered view from these strangers, who readily compare his mom to a monster in her appearance and giggle over her nickname, Dung Ogre. They recount stories meant to illustrate what a mess of a person she was. But with each one, Dong-hwan instead sees a woman who pointed out the ugly truth, even when it made her unpopular.
Yeon Sang-ho withholds a key detail to keep viewers on their toes.
Credit: Well Go USA
In seeking to know his mother, one thing Dong-hwan wants deeply is to see her. He was so young when she died that he has no memory of her. His father, being a blind man, has no photos of her. And even her family insists she was camera-shy because “she was ugly.” A photo of her would be a way to properly remember her at her funeral, where her remains are just bones. But more than that, it would be a way for her to become real to Dong-hwan.
Yeon illustrates Dong-hwan’s journey to understand his mother by presenting flashback scenes that reflect his perspective, not that of the story’s teller. What I mean by this is, even when stories are told from those who despise her and call her “ugly,” Yeon never shows her face. Either it’s obstructed by the long, lanky dark hair that hangs down from her head and onto her shoulders, or it’s just out of frame. Whether or not she is ugly is not a question we are invited to answer in these scenes. Instead, we are urged to judge her by her actions — as her son does.
Yeon Sang-ho delivers a twisted crime tale.
The answers to the murder mystery are not wildly surprising. But to Yeon’s credit, they are well charted. With each interview, Dong-hwan plays detective, piecing together who could have possibly wanted his mother dead. The reveals are satisfyingly gut-wrenching.
Beyond that, however, in seeking her, he comes to better understand his father too. Through old stories unearthed, he sees how his father and mother responded differently to challenges. And so, now more than ever before, Dong-hwan is left to wonder who he resembles. It’s a point brought up by the TV producer Su-jin, who says early on that Dong-hwan looks like his dad. But “resembles” takes on a deeper meaning as he learns ugly truths. In what ways is he like his dad and like his mom? This question becomes the one that will stick with you.
In the end, The Ugly is a stirring thriller, bolstered by dark twists, and paid off with a final scene that plays like a monkey’s paw curling. What if what you want is ultimately what you get? Can you handle it?
The Ugly was reviewed out of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
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