Letter #106.5: The So-e Letter

Good morning, Erin.

The earthquake that hit us a couple of days after your birthday, this year, must have shaken loose some luck from the ether, setting it adrift on the wind until it swept through my open office window—because I had such a great day afterward: my new watch arrived in the mail; the third season of Yuru Camp (one of the best anime series ever) was ready to go; and the secrets of the internet unfolded before me to reveal I could watch the three independent short films our dear So-e has been in—English subtitles and all—for free on YouTube.

Truly, it was a blessed Friday.

And, in a way, I’m passing the good luck on to you—because you bet your bippy we’re gonna fawn over my girl for a while talk about those So-e movies!

First, though…have you seen little-girl So-e?!

I think she posted this for Children’s Day either last year or the year before. But…just…look at that face! It’s always so funny when you can obviously see the adult in the pictures from someone’s childhood pictures. Sometimes it’s that the person has the same features or has the same expression or gives off the same attitude. In this case, I immediately recognized those smiling eyes—the whole smiling expression, really, but the eyes especially—from Single’s Inferno 2. Aaaggh, she’s so cute!

…what? I love her. I’m allowed.

But yes, yes, I get it: you’re excited to jump into talking about the movies—and far be it from me to disappoint you.

I. Under the Shade (2024)

A therapist counsels a high school girl who is being bullied at school.

1. The story tips its hand pretty early on, so it’s more than a little obvious where things are going to go—but I think that's actually to the movie's benefit, because it shifts the focus from what the story is to how the story is executed. Which means it’s up to the actors (and the script) to really sell you on what you already know is coming. And I thought they totally did.

2. Our So-e is really, really good in this—the best performance in the whole thing. She plays the bullied high school girl, and you can see how present she is (if you remember my point about acting in the My Demon letter), can see her really listening and reacting to what’s in front of her as she speaks with the therapist. She’s just…good. I really hope she gets a lot more work. I know there are a lot of good actors just waiting for a break, but…well, I’m not in love with the other ones. In all seriousness, she’s got real talent—and she keeps getting better. (More on that later.)

3. The subtitles, um, needed a little work. They weren’t terrible, but they were off just enough that I felt it was worth noting. Like, I know -nim covers both “sir” and “ma’am” in Korean, but the titles aren’t interchangeable in English. And “take careful” is not a phrase we use in English—though, of course, “take care” and “be careful” certainly are. It was touches like those that made me wonder what the process for the translation was…and took me out of the movie for just a moment.

4. Speaking of the subtitles, though…because it’s closed caption subtitles, we get subtitles for the sound effects and stuff, too—which means we got these incredible over-descriptive explanations of the background soundtrack, such as “calm, but miserable music.” I guess they really thought the music was important for driving home the tone of the scene. 

5. There’s an interesting (though admittedly not new) philosophical question raised during a conversation between the therapist and her daughter when it comes to “outcasts” in school: if we all agree that ostracizing someone is wrong, then what’s the solution for kids who aren’t fitting in but not through malice of their peers? Is it someone’s responsibility to encourage/force socializing or is it just a matter of not actively mistreating the misfits? The movie doesn’t go into it much at all, but it struck me as something I want to chew on a bit more. 

6. Loved the way they decided to end it. Stylistically, I mean. I thought it was a great way to do it.

7. Because I haven’t said it explicitly: definitely recommend this one. 

II. Abba, Father (2019)

A girl and her brother try to live as normal high schoolers while under the strict watch of their mother, who is zealously devoted to her religion. 

1. Of the three movies, I think this is So-e’s weakest performance—and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s the oldest of the three. It’s not that she’s bad; rather, I’d say it’s that she’s just, y’know, fine…as opposed to really good, as she is in things later on. Which, to me, is a clear sign that she’s just getting better with experience. 

1A. Like, there’s a scene where she’s trying to explain how her family’s religious practices aren’t what people might normally expect, and the dialogue is written very well—but her emotional tone and line delivery are wrong. So-e from 2024 would have knocked it out of the park, no doubt.

2. The movie is okay. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s a solid enough script. I don’t know that I’d recommend it, but, if you’re as much in love with So-e as I am (...you’re not (no one is)), I wouldn’t tell you not to give it a look.

3. The official description of the movie says that So-e’s character is “forced by her mother to believe in the wrong religion,” which seems like A) not the most accurate description of the movie’s plot, and B) maybe more judgmental than I’d have described the mother’s religious choices. 

3A. Now, in fairness to the description—whether it’s a translation issue or not—the mother has devoted herself to what I’d say is clearly a Christian-adjacent sectarian cult, and their practices (though not given a lot of explicit detail) don’t seem to be designed for the benefit of the practitioners so much they do the “church.” I don’t think it’s providing what I think a religion should, so I suppose I’d call it “wrong,” in that sense—but I also don’t know exactly where the population at large gets to draw the line between “weird” and “normal” when it comes to these things if no one’s being held against his will or being genuinely harmed (physically, mentally, financially, etc). 

3B. …not that the movie explores this idea. It’s mostly just about So-e trying to date a boy but not being able to hang out with him like someone else would because of the restrictions of her mother’s religion (such as going to church on Wednesday nights). 

4. My big issue (if that’s the right word) with the movie is how it shifts tones—that is, not that it shifts but in how it executes the transition from one moment to another.

III. Sumi (2021)

When asked by her friend for help with an audition for a school play, a former child actor grapples with her resentment towards her mother for forcing her to be a child actor.

1. There’s not much to this one. The script is a little weak, but So-e is markedly better in this than she was in Abba, Father (again, showing she’s only getting better with experience). 

1A. Should you skip it? I dunno. It’s more enjoyable than Abba, Father but also much less interesting. But neither of them is as good as Under the Shade. 

2. The subtitles for this one are terrible, though. 

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that. 

…that being So-e’s short films, of course, not So-e. Obviously I have so much more gushing to do about her—but I know you don’t need a novella’s-worth of squeeeeeeeees from me about our girl. 

…unless you do. Do you? I can totally talk for another 10 pag—y’know what, you probably don’t. 

Anyway.

As ever, I wonder what you’d direct me to next. Everyone seemed to be watching Queen of Tears, but would you waved me off or told me to dive in? What about Lovely Runner? And would you say Wedding Impossible counts or doesn’t count as being my favorite trope, since the fake relationship isn’t between two people who would fall in love? 

See? Endlessly flailing without you. 

I hope the end of your year (..and coming graduation? Am I remembering properly?) is going well. And that you had a nice meal, today. I feel like you’ve earned something yummy.

More soon—but you’ll never guess what. 

—Daryl