The new South Korean movie ¡°Hommage¡± centers on a middle-aged filmmaker, Kim Ji-wan (Lee Jeong-eun), who seems to have hit a wall in a career she entered relatively late in life.
In the opening scene, she and her producer, a woman who has been her friend longer than either has been in the movie business, attend a cineplex screening of her third and latest work, ¡°Ghost Man.¡± The theater is practically empty. Though the scene is played for laughs, it portends a scary future for Kim that resonates throughout ¡°Hommage.¡± Neither her college-age son nor her husband support her career and often complain that she doesn¡¯t fulfill her responsibilities as a wife and mother. She feels guilty, but also resentful.
Kim¡¯s difficulties are tied directly to the fact that she¡¯s a woman. Though she doesn¡¯t make the kind of films that earn a lot of money ¡ª her son bluntly says they¡¯re boring ¡ª most of her professional problems stem from other people¡¯s expectations, which are based on her gender.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.