Resilience 2009
Distributed by Seventh Art Releasing, 1614 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; 323-845-1455
Producer n/a
Director n/a
DVD, color, 75 min.
Sr. High - General Adult
Adoption, Asian Studies, Multicultural Studies, Parenting, Women's Studies
Date Entered: 11/01/2011
Reviewed by Linda Frederiksen, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA“With every new family created by adoption, another family gets torn apart.”Since the 1950s, an estimated 200,000 Korean children have been placed in international adoption, primarily in western nations and especially in the United States. The resilience required of both the birth parent and the adopted child is the subject of this emotional and personal documentary.
When impoverished Myungja loses her infant son to adoption in the early 1970s, she assumes he has gone to a wealthy family in Korea. Only when she is reunited with him nearly 30 years later on a Korean television reality program does she learn the truth. Brent Beesley, born Sung-wook, was raised in South Dakota, with little knowledge or curiosity about his heritage. After their initial emotional meeting, birth mother and son struggle with language and culture as they try to establish a relationship with each other.
Korean-American Chu, herself an adoptee, addresses the theme of international adoption through the telling of a single sad yet beautiful story. Using the words of Myungia and Brent as the narrative, it is apparent that for both the parent and child, adoption opens as many wounds as it may heal.
Awards
- Award Winner, Palm Beach Women’s International Film Festival, 2011
- Best Document Feature, 11th Annual DC APA Film Festival, 2010
Recommended