Review by Matthew Tsang

Director Kim-Tae-kyun is best known as the director of the action-packed hit Volcano High, however in Crossing, he takes a very different turn - and audiences are glad he did. Crossing tells the immensely sad tale of a simple North Korean family of three who long for a simple, happy life together. They have all that they want and need – enough food to go around, each other's company, a loyal dog. All seems well until the mom is diagnosed with tuberculosis, which can be fatal without the right medicine and care. Yeong-su, the loyal and devoted father and husband, must leave his family for China in search of medicine. The very young son is left to take care for his ailing mother, who seems to be getting closer to death with each passing day. Yeong-su is determined throughout the film to bring the medicine back and see his family again, but troubles with the law and border crossings hinder him continuously. Meanwhile, his son endures a horrific labour camp and is forced through a childhood full of disappointments.

You need not be wary about the potential propaganda this political tale may display, North Korean policy is surely depicted as cruel, but South Korea isn't deemed as angelic either. The power this film has that tips it above many others has nothing to do with pitting the North against the South, but rather the believably harsh realism of the relationships between the characters and their unjust circumstances.

Crossing
Kim Tae-Kyun | South Korea | 2008 | 107min

Sat. Sept. 27 | 9:30pm | Empire Granville Theatre 3
Sun. Sept. 28 | 1:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre 7