In Her Place consists mostly of 3 characters: the mother (Gil Hae-yeon), her pregnant teenage daughter (Ahn Ji-hye), and a wealthy woman (Yoon Da-gyeong) who stays with them in anticipation of getting the baby once the teenager has given birth.
We briefly see the husband drop off his wife and then he disappears.
The mother wants the money to give a better life for her daughter. The woman wants the baby because she can't have one on her own. What does the daughter want?
The daughter loves her dog and wants to be with her boyfriend. The family challenges the boyfriend so he doesn't come around. The daughter grows unhappy with that as well as losing her dog.
The mother and woman see the daughter as a means to an end yet they don't consider the actual person carrying the child.
Albert Shin builds a quiet film with slow building momentum in his debut feature film.
All 3 women are going through their own journey during this time, though the daughter's path is more obvious. The mother-daughter dynamic serves as a warning for the woman who wants to be a mother.
The triangle (plus child) of females makes a crucial difference within the film, appreciating the power of women.
The film feels slow but the beauty lies in its subtlety.
If you saw and enjoyed Disappearance at Clifton Hill from Shin, you should see this 2014 film.
Canadian film review: Disappearance at Clifton Hill
CanadianCrossing.com film reviews
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
The film made Canada's Top Ten list of feature films from 2014. In Her Place is available in Canada on CBC Gem.
video credit: YouTube/TIFF Originals
photo credit: In Her Place
Comments