'House of Hummingbird' Review: Adolescence portrayed realistically through the loss of Seongsu Bridge collapse
Adolescence is for many, a dramatic experience. You would look back and remember the happy times and the sad ones, calling it reminiscing of a past that many of us deceive ourselves into believing is worth cherishing. However, in 'House of Hummingbird', this period of one's life is put under a magnifying glass, and through Eun-hee, we experience the highs and lows that a girl studying in middle school would experience. Spectacularly though, even the most melodramatic of events are shown sans exaggeration or the histrionic that comes with other teenage movies.
Eun-hee loves drawing Manhwa more than studying, but unlike her sister who bunks classes and cram school lessons, Eun-hee tries to keep the peace. She attends the classes but the moment the lesson begins, her mind wanders and as much as she is restrained by her teachers and parents, Eun-hee finds ways to glean as much fun as she can within these boundaries that have been set for her. The moment that one of her family members gets clued in about her hobbies though, things do not go well. Especially when her brother finds out that Eun-hee is dating, he tries to discipline her and even annoy her. So when Eun-hee ends up swearing at him, her brother gets aggressive and even goes to the extent of physically abusing his sister.
It is later that we learn that this is habitual. He takes out the pressure of being the perfect son -- to his father who has expectations that are sky-high -- on his sister and what is worse is the fact that no one disciplines him even when she tries to raise a complaint within her family. It is not just her, but her friend from one of her cram schools also experiences the same within her family. While the extent to which domestic abuse is normalized does shock you, the movie is about a holistic experience of what it means to be a teenager. So we also see Eun-hee experience heartbreak, not once, but twice.
Then the unexpected loss that Eun-hee experiences -- all of it temper her into a different person by the end of the film. Initially, she was just like any other middle-school student. Many called her delinquent, but that did not bother her as much as being beaten by her brother. She did smoke with her friend, get caught trying to shoplift, and even get betrayed by her best friend. It is one after another disaster that she faces, but you do not feel like it is an onslaught because of the absence of exaggeration or melodrama. The experiences seem a lot more grounded in reality.
As the film set in 1994 ends with the tragedy that struck Seoul with Seongsu Bridge collapse, all of it takes place offscreen and all that we see are the effects of it. The scene of that final family dinner, which alludes to a possible family member's loss offsets the mood by showing us that it doesn't have to be family for one to feel the weight of loss. Starting from Eun-hee's brother who is wracked by sobs, to Eun-hee's sister whose classmates had lost their lives, the aftermath trickles in slowly.
Especially for Eun-hee, who until that moment seemed positive that the one person in her life who had understood her while she felt all alone, would be present for her after her many ordeals. The way she learns about the passing of Young-ji, the teacher who taught her more about herself and the need to stand up for herself, shows how transient everything in her life is. Young-ji had played an important role in Eun-hee's life, especially in teaching her the importance of self-respect. Despite all losses, the fact that Eun-hee picks up her life, but now sees it through the eyes of Young-ji is the brilliant takeaway from this movie. Every meeting plays a role in your life, and this film drives in on that.
'House of Hummingbird' released in the US on August 3 on VOD.