GRANDMOTHER’S FLOWER opens with an intimate scene of director Mun jeong-hyun’s mother cooking a traditional stew and prompting him to document his family history for his ailing grandmother, Park Sun-rae, a key figure in the film. The uncovering of personal tragedies reveals an intricate narrative, illuminating issues that the nation as a whole is still reluctant to confront. The Korean peninsula is divided along ideological lines, but there are other lines that cut deeper: the trauma of Japanese oppression and internecine conflicts over class disparities that stem from feudal times.

Mun travels to his grandmother’s hometown in Naju, South Jeollo Province, a region divided by class distinctions: Sangdae—the wealthy upper village, Jungdae—where Mun’s grandmother is from, and Pungdong or “Hadae”—the poorer “lower village.” Interviews with residents expose a deep-seeded history of contempt and mistrust between the neighboring villages.

As one Pundong resident observes, “Talking about it will just make things worse. Even if you dig, you won’t find out anything from our village.”

In this compelling documentary, Mun introduces a broad cast of characters and portraits including a neurotic great uncle who was shot by a policeman while turning himself in and another family member who was murdered by a family friend. The cinema-verité style, interpolated with animated vignettes, is a perfect format for the telling of this difficult yet honest story.

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