Synopsis:
Moon Young began its life, if you will, as a short film of just over 40 minutes duration, filmed in 2013. Originally premiering at the Seoul Independent Film Festival in 2015, a further 20 minutes of scenes were later added for its January 2017 cinema release, taking the ‘full' feature running time, ultimately, to 64 minutes. As such, Moon Young is half the duration of the average Korean film, or even less than half if you consider the number of Korean cinema releases in the past few years that have far exceeded the two hour running time mark ( Moss immediately springs to mind, for example). However, Moon Young never feels anything less than a full feature. Neither does it ever feel rushed in any respect and in fact, to the absolute credit of director Kim So-yeon, Moon Young succeeds in having a gentle pacing throughout; one of the film's many strengths. Kim So-yeon clearly added to the original short only scenes necessary to tell the story wholly and entirely regardless of the ultimate narrative length, rather than take the route of some of the large Korean studios that will often specify required duration from script stage, even if that means a director must pad out a narrative, to an extent at least, to reach a two hour or two hour plus running time. This deftly ensures that every single scene in Moon Young feels (and indeed is) vital to the unfolding of the narrative and themes, while the film overall comes across as adeptly succinct without a moment's unnecessary meandering.
Moon Young opens with some of the handheld footage of random commuters filmed by the titular character accompanied by gentle, even almost melancholy, acoustic guitar and synth strings. As the hoards of mostly women file past Moon-young’s somewhat intrusive lens – many ignoring her completely while some briefly and disparagingly give her a dressing down with their eyes – it is virtually impossible not to be instantly aware of this young girl's separation from the masses, either by choice, necessity or indeed circumstance; Moon-young stands as an observer watching life move around and past her wholly from an outside perspective while not really being part of it. This idea is further underlined just a moment later as a female subway commuter jumps to berate Moon-young for not answering her query of how to get to a specific destination, with Moon-young angrily gesticulating and moving away as quickly as possible. Similarly, through the growing and somewhat quirky friendship between Moon-young and Hee-soo the narrative also speaks of the difficulty of and need for finding a meaningful human bond for those living essentially solitary lives in highly populated, modern urban landscapes and how the almost subconscious feeling of solitude can cause individuals such as Moon-young to shy away from connections that by their inherent nature would negate (at least in part) the very feelings of separation that are at the core of their ‘issues'.
The final line of dialogue in the very last seconds of Moon Young is perhaps the film's most powerful moment. Speaking at once of separation and connection, one only needs to look at the subtle change in the titular character’s expression to know everything there is to know about her ultimate feelings, needs and of course pain. The vastly differing personalities of Moon-young and Hee-soo work incredibly well together (Moon-young silent, insular and brooding; Hee-soo loud, irreverent and often raucously drunk) but both have one thing entirely in common. That is, they have both created personas in an attempt to subconsciously hide their pain and indeed shield themselves from it. Director Kim So-yeon perfectly uses this commonality to ensure that the bond between the two women is wholly believable; their gradual understanding of each other is entirely natural; and the chances of each of these largely broken souls eventually opening up to each other is not only plausible but also likely and indeed hopeful.
Summary: While just 64 minutes in duration, Moon Young never feels anything less than a full feature. A nuanced, succinct yet in-depth narrative insightfully speaking of both separation and connection, Moon Young is without even a single moment's unnecessary meandering.
문영 / Moon Young (2017) Director: Kim So-yeon Starring: Kim Tae-ri, Hyun Jung
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Korean Movie | 2015
• Drama
Directed by Kim So-yeon-IV (김소연)
Written by Kim So-yeon-IV (김소연)
64min | Release date in South Korea: 2017/01/12
Synopsis Mute Moon-young records people's faces with her small camcorder on the subway. One day, she avoids her drunk father at home and films Hee-soo who is crying over saying goodbye to her boyfriend and gets caught. The two feel some sort of kinship and become closer.
Moon young 📰 latest news more.
📰 more news ›, moon young 👥 cast more.
📰 News 🎥 Credits 📷 Pics
Moon-young (문영)
Hee-soo (희수)
Father (아버지)
Kwon Hyeok-cheol (권혁철)
📰 News 🎥 Credits
Middle aged woman 1 (아주머니1)
Moon young 📷 pictures more.
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Kim Moon-young
Park Jung-sik
Kwon Hyukchul
Park Wangyu
Jang Hyangsook
Jang Heesoo
Kim So-yeon
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1 hr 4 min | |
$34 928 January 12, 2017 |
Filmed in February 2013, Moon Young debuted as a short film at the Seoul Independent Film Festival in 2015, approximately 43 minutes in length.
An expanded version of the film, with a runtime of 64 minutes, was theatrically released on January 12, 2017.
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Common Sense Media
Movie & TV reviews for parents
Moon students, common sense media reviewers.
Indie drama about racism has drinking, language, self-harm.
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
Don't be racist. Don't let powerful authorities ru
Lita is a good student. She cares about social jus
The cast features Black, Latino, and White actors
Some references to self-harm. Some young college s
A college student really doesn't want his girlfrie
Strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "ass," "d
Brief references to Google, Life Magazine, and Kan
College students drink beer to excess. Many show d
Parents need to know that Moon Students is an indie movie about some college students in Los Angeles wrestling with racism, the COVID pandemic, and disillusionment. After a White professor treats a Latino American student badly, the student spirals downward, losing his girlfriend and his college career. There…
Don't be racist. Don't let powerful authorities ruin your future. Be open with your feelings.
Lita is a good student. She cares about social justice and being heard as a immigrant and Mexican American.
The cast features Black, Latino, and White actors but there's some stereotyping and problematic representations. The college-age men, who are all people of color, are primarily shown partying, almost starting fights, and drinking a lot and to excess. The writer and director is a White man.
Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.
Some references to self-harm. Some young college students purposely harm themselves by drinking too much. A college student attacks a professor, and they fall to the ground. News footage shows people being taken into hospitals during the COVID pandemic. A man calls a gay man a "f--got." A woman tells a story about how two of her family members drowned.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
A college student really doesn't want his girlfriend to leave him. Some romantic kissing.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "ass," "damn," "f--got," "bitch," "balls," and "punk."
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
Brief references to Google, Life Magazine , and Kanye West.
College students drink beer to excess. Many show drunken behavior. One college student drinks to excess every night for a long time. Adults drink wine and liquor. College students smoke cigarettes. A few drug references, like when students mention a "magic bus."
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Parents need to know that Moon Students is an indie movie about some college students in Los Angeles wrestling with racism, the COVID pandemic, and disillusionment. After a White professor treats a Latino American student badly, the student spirals downward, losing his girlfriend and his college career. There are some references to self-harm and depression. College-age students often drink to excess and display drunken behavior. College-age students also smoke cigarettes and make a few drug references, like when one mentions a "magic bus." One calls a friend of his, who is gay, a "f--got." Kissing. Strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "ass," "damn," "bitch," "balls," and "punk." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .
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Based on 1 parent review
What's the story.
In MOON STUDENTS, a few Latino and Black college students in Los Angeles wrestle with disillusionment and the COVID pandemic while trying to find their place in the world. An entitled White professor (Nicholas Thurkettle) causes one student's downward spiral, while his girlfriend and friends try to keep him from hurting himself.
This film is an indie through and through. Feeling a lot like a self-made budget film, Moon Students has an admirable message, but overall it doesn't work. A lot of the dialogue feels stilted and unrealistic, scene sequencing and timing issues get confusing, and there's a general sense that there really isn't a story here. Unrealistic representations also plague the film, like the professor's behavior, a professor closing his door for a meeting with a student (not common practice), and a college student dropping out of college after failing just one class. While the students spend a lot of time talking about social justice, the film isn't really about that, despite its best efforts to shoehorn in commentary about George Floyd, White entitlement, and the voices of POCs being unheard. It means well, but lots of the writing feels like it is from a White person who has just recently learned about how unfair it is not to be White and wants to talk about it (the writer and director is a White man).
Perhaps that is unfair, but some elements of the film reinforce the naivete of the writing. For instance, the film begins with one of its main characters, Ethan Cole, a professor and a White man, mistreating a POC student, Antonio, in Cole's office. This event sets off Antonio's downward spiral, but it never becomes clear why Cole needs to be in this film at all. Cole finds redemption at the end by apologizing and admitting his racist behavior earlier, but his role remains unnecessary. This film could've been solely about Lita and Antonio losing a friend during the pandemic, navigating racist professors, and learning how to find their social justice voice. Also, the film tries to avoid the "White savior" narrative by mentioning it but still succeeds in committing the error. And the college-age men, who are all POCs, are primarily shown partying, almost starting fights, and drinking a lot and to excess. Lastly, the moon metaphor that is supposed to ground the story ultimately doesn't make any sense and isn't thought through or executed well.
Families can talk about racism in indie drama movies. How did you feel about the way racism was portrayed in Moon Students ?
Would you have done anything different than Antonio after his meeting with his professor? If so, what?
Did you find the ending satisfying? Why or why not?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Our editors recommend.
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
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