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Son of Man

Special Programs in Focus

CountryKorea
Production Year1980
Running Time110min
Format35mm
ColorCOLOR

Program Note

Yu Hyun-Mok′s view of human salvation is bound to feature some form of religious concept.Not because he was a member of a certain religious sector, but because religion is something created by humans. In fact, Yu faced heavy protests from religious groups for his film Martyr. His definition of Christ is more of Nietzsche′s anti-Christ figure or ′Zarathustra′, or close to Kazachakis′ Last Temptation of Christ. Lee Mun-Yeol′s original novel is an ambitious depiction of Ahaspers, a son of man, who is embodied as the contemporary character of Joseph. If the novel was a self-confession of sorts, the movie proceeds as a suspense-ridden murder mystery, a narrative structure told from a detective′s point of view. It faithfully follows film conventions, thoroughly utilizing its genre to lead the audience into intellectual introspection. Within the film world, Son of Man frees itself from religious coloration, although its conclusion is extremely religious. (Jung Jae-Hyung)

Director

YU Hyun-Mok

Yu Hyun-Mok is a film pioneer responsible for cultivating the aesthetics of Korean cinema who also had immense influence on other filmmakers. He directed 43 features including the classic An Aimless Bullet which many consider as the single greatest Korean film ever made. Born in 1925, Yu Hyun-Mok began his film career in 1955 with The Crossroad. Since then, he has pursued auteurism in the midst of a turbulent modern history and the barren nature of Korean cinema. His films represent a mirror which reflect Korea’s social reality in a critical manner, questioning society in the following manner: reality vs. existence in [An Aimless Bullet] (1961), religion vs. ideology in [Martyr] (1965) and [Rainy Days] (1979), and tradition vs. modern times in [Daughters of the Pharmacist Kim] (1963) and [Three Henpeck Generation] (1967). Yu Hyun-Mok has journeyed in search of human life. He also presents a unified aesthetic exploration of reality and ample experimentation in cinematic images. His latest project is 1995’s [Mommy, Star and Sea Anemone].

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