Kim Go Eun has had a busy year. She squeezed out “Yumi’s Cells” Season 2 right before GOT7’s Jinyoung enlisted in the army, and recently wrapped up “Little Women”. It’s a thriller loosely based on the characters in a book of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. I will watch anything Kim Go Eun is in, because she’s an expressive actress who picks good projects. But she doesn’t have a drama or movie coming out in the immediate future, so how can Kim Go Eun fans occupy themselves?
Let’s go back in time to a little film called “Sunset In My Hometown“.
Plot
“Sunset In My Hometown” is an 8 Mile-adjacent film about an aspiring rapper named Hak Soo (Park Jung Min). He’s from the countryside, and has been trying to make it as a rapper through a reality show called Show Me The Money (which is real, by the way). He works various odd jobs and uses every spare moment to write raps and practice. While it’s clear Hak Soo possess talent and drive, it’s his sixth time on the show, because he always chokes during the third round.
Hak Soo is determined not to let history repeat itself, but he gets a call from a hospital in Byeonsan that causes old feelings to come rushing back up. His father has had a stroke. Hak Soo quickly brushes the news aside, because he has no good memories of the man who abandoned him and didn’t come to his own wife’s funeral. So, he proceeds with Show Me The Money and advances to the third round. The challenge is to do a freestyle rap based on the word “mother”, and Hak Soo is disqualified after painful memories of his dying mother prevent him from coming up with one.
At this point, Hak Soo figures he has nothing to lose, and returns to his hometown with his mother’s final words about not resenting his father on his mind.
When he arrives in Byeonsan, bad memories haunt Hak Soo and he comes face to face with his dad in a hospital room. Another ill man shares this room, and his daughter Sun Mi (Kim Go Eun) turns out to be an old classmate. Despite the little reunion, Hak Soo is angry because his father seems fine. He’s about to return to Seoul when a hilarious misunderstanding forces him to stay in town and confront his past.
Characters
Hak Soo
When it comes to this kind of story, he’s your typical underdog. Talented and hungry for success, but unable to move on due to his unresolved trauma. He’s angry at the world, but that anger stems from his father not being a better man. His father was a small town gangster in Byeonsan who went to prison, and abandoned Hak Soo and his mom when they needed him. He didn’t go to her funeral, and when Hak Soo eventually finds him, he’s living with another woman drinking and gambling.
In addition to Hak Soo hating his father, he hates Byeonsan, because “the town has never done anything good for him.” Park Jung Min is very believable in this role. You can feel the anger and hurt vibrating under his skin whenever he has a scene with his father. I’m also impressed by the fact he studied rap for a year and wrote all the raps we hear in the movie. I just wish his character development had been more self-driven. Sun Mi did the bulk of the emotional heavy-lifting, and the second-to-last conflict is settled by Hak Soo’s fists. Sure, that’s realistic for some, but I wish the movie pointed out it’s not a healthy or long-term solution to your problems.
Sun Mi
Sun Mi is Hak Soo’s old classmate. He was her first love, but she never told him. She’s also the one who called him from the hospital about his dad’s stroke. Sun Mi never left Byeonsan, and now works as a Civil Servant. She’s a bit awkward and naive, but kind. It would’ve been easy to make her two-dimensional, but the film gives her layers by making her a successful author on the side. When she’s not taking care of her sick father or encouraging Hak Soo to reconcile with his, she’s writing. Without her, most of Hak Soo’s character development would be non-existent, and the movie wouldn’t have been able to achieve the same depth.
Kim Go Eun plays Sun Mi with the right amount of charm and backbone. She’s hilarious during the comedic scenes and sympathetic during the emotional ones. Sun Mi isn’t as strenuous as some of her other roles, but I like that Kim Go Eun committed by gaining a little bit of weight. She really fits the image of an old classmate who’s more than her exterior.
Hak Soo’s Dad
He’s a selfish small time criminal who traumatized his wife and son. We’re supposed to feel sorry for him and forgive him just because he’s old and sick, but it’s hard to feel sympathy for him. In fact, I think that’s one of the movie’s few missed opportunities. It could’ve given him a stronger backstory and explored his relationship with Hak Soo on a deeper level.
Overall, Jang Hang Sun plays him well, but I wanted more. He’s a veteran actor, so I know if the character had been written better he would’ve left a stronger impression.
Supporting Characters
The supporting characters include Won Joon, a teacher who stole Hak Soo’s poetry and published it as his own. This is significant, because one of the poems about sunsets in Byeonsan is where the title of the movie is taken from. We also have Mi Kyung, Hak Soo’s first love, Yong Dae, a boy Hak Soo used to pick on, and three of Hak Soo’s childhood friends.
Most (if not all) of the supporting characters are responsible for some hilarious scenes, and force Hak Soo to look at certain situations from his past from all angles.
Conclusion/Thoughts
As Hak Soo stays in Byeonsan, Sun Mi helps him realize who he’s become: an angry young man who needs to let go of hurt and resentment. He settles his feelings for his father and comes to peace with his small town roots. He even manages to finally see Sun Mi’s inner beauty.
I won’t mention any other spoilers, so you can still enjoy the movie, but it’s what I’d call a bittersweet ending.
While the movie’s not perfect, the message of returning to your roots and forgiveness being more about you than the other person is universal. I would definitely give it a watch for the touching raps, the great acting (especially from Kim Go Eun), and the beautiful cinematography.
