Reviews
Pregnancy and motherhood are daring subjects in animation, and here Hye-mi Kim does her best to bring forward a first-person account (halved between two parallel stories); the film both begins and ends with the image of a newborn baby, and this unspoken factor shapes all subsequent behavior. Se-hyeon is drawn with almost harsh lines, revealing a face whose veins are ready to explode. Fit and energetic, she presents an athlete almost on steroids -even though in her case, it's her own imposed need to succeed that does the trick. Bereft of ordinary love, and being thrown in a society that either values champions or motherhood -but not both, and not at the same time- Se-hyeon and her alternate ego soon disintegrate into chaos.
The film's second act is certainly the most interesting one, and one that would make Robert Aldrich, the director of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? proud. Se-hyeon is not just driven by her own success fuel; her own weakness becomes multiplied by a mother-in-law who embodies the worst in patriarchy, with whom Se-hyeon has to dwell. The lighting here, with its unreal coloring, seems destined to serve a story far from realism.
The limited budget of the 3D computer animation film shows through at times (such as the crowd scenes); the story and the characters, though, hold the film together, while the transition from the first to the second parallel universe is edited to maximize suspense.
Climbing is mostly a film of interiors, matching its character's own self-worries. Expectations about pregnancy (rather than being pregnant) are the social horror where Climbing dwells. It is a well-crafted animation feature, which economically uses its slasher prerequisites, and enrolls its viewers for a roller-coaster ride with a woman who simply had it too much, and needs to get out. A tense and rewarding film at the same time.
Climbing by Hye-mi Kim Review: A Woman Cut in Two
Vassilis Kroustallis
A woman needs to do everything impeccably in the harrowing but fascinating environment that Hye-mi Kim, a graduate of the Korean Academy of Film Arts (2004), puts her main character in the Korean animation, Gothic horror feature, "Climbing".
Se-hyeon Choi (Kim Minji) is a professional climber and almost world champion -if only she could get away with her post-traumatic stress disorder, caused by a recent car accident. Her husband supports her but cannot do much to help her; her coach has a plan for her retirement, and there's always a competitor vying for Se-hyeon's place in the film, relegating her to teacher's duties.
Still, the impressively persistent Se-hyeon wants to enter the Climbing World Championship -only to discover that she's pregnant. At this point, she's starting to get text messages from an alternate Se-hyeon, who has a different story to tell; one of home confinement, being handicapped, and still carrying a baby of her own. Ultimately, these two storylines will become more entangled and start affecting each other.
Pregnancy and motherhood are daring subjects in animation, and here Hye-mi Kim does her best to bring forward a first-person account (halved between two parallel stories); the film both begins and ends with the image of a newborn baby, and this unspoken factor shapes all subsequent behavior. Se-hyeon is drawn with almost harsh lines, revealing a face whose veins are ready to explode. Fit and energetic, she presents an athlete almost on steroids -even though in her case, it's her own imposed need to succeed that does the trick. Bereft of ordinary love, and being thrown in a society that either values champions or motherhood -but not both, and not at the same time- Se-hyeon and her alternate ego soon disintegrate into chaos.
The film's second act is certainly the most interesting one, and one that would make Robert Aldrich, the director of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? proud. Se-hyeon is not just driven by her own success fuel; her own weakness becomes multiplied by a mother-in-law who embodies the worst in patriarchy, with whom Se-hyeon has to dwell. The lighting here, with its unreal coloring, seems destined to serve a story far from realism.
The limited budget of the 3D computer animation film shows through at times (such as the crowd scenes); the story and the characters, though, hold the film together, while the transition from the first to the second parallel universe is edited to maximize suspense.
Climbing is mostly a film of interiors, matching its character's own self-worries. Expectations about pregnancy (rather than being pregnant) are the social horror where Climbing dwells. It is a well-crafted animation feature, which economically uses its slasher prerequisites, and enrolls its viewers for a roller-coaster ride with a woman who simply had it too much, and needs to get out. A tense and rewarding film at the same time.
Vassilis Kroustallis
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Vassilis Kroustallis
