“I was a bad sister” “I was a bad mother”

Teenage bullying is a rampant issue and a common theme in Korean cinema that deals with characters in that age demographic. And here is one of the most sensitive portrayals of an entire family affected by the cruel behaviour of a few. Hurtful words and actions have consequences, sometimes devastating ones.

It was supposed to be an ordinary day for Hyun Sook (Kim Hee Ae) and her daughters, Man Ji (Go Ah Sung) and Cheon Ji (Kim Hyang Gi). Hyun Sook works at a local supermarket, making ends meet as a widow with her two teenage daughters. But something is not quite right with the youngest, Cheon Ji. She has a blank, helpless look on her face, something that goes unnoticed by those around her. It is not long before we discover that she has made a heart-breaking decision to hang herself in her bedroom.

From this point onward, the focus of the film’s narrative is carefully balanced with two timelines; the remaining family attempting to move on from this trauma, and flashback sequences detailing the events leading up to that fateful afternoon, both equally upsetting as each other.

We see the small taunts and jabs that Cheon Ji had to endure, spearheaded by her supposed best friend Hwa Yeon (Kim Yoo Jung), a popular girl using the shy, introverted girl as an easy target. The bully herself is given a surprising level of depth and character development, and the script avoids painting her as a mere stereotypical high-school mean girl resorting to big grand bullying antics, but as a more calculating, complex teenage character. Kim Hyang Gi is a revelation, never milking it into the territory of the overly dramatic tragic heroine, but as a remarkably convincing young student being a victim of constant belittlement. Cheon Ji suffers for a long time in silence, unable to be completely open and truthful to her family, and it is in Kim’s performance that portrays the helpless suffocation.

Back in the present timeline there are equally moving performances. Screen veteran Kim Hee Ae as the matriarch forms the emotional core of the cast. In an impossible situation she finds herself having to move forward with her life, but also has difficulty letting go of the past. She has resentment towards her daughter for having done what she did, but what cannot be hidden is her guilt and remorse for not seeing the warning signs. Her focus on the past it turns out is little to find someone else to blame, but really to retrace the steps to see whether she could have done anything differently as a mother. Kim certainly has the range and captivating screen presence, making the family drama all the more involving.

Taking a slightly different approach to the tragedy is Man Ji, the older sister. She is more interested in having honest conversations with Cheon Ji’s “friends” to really get to the bottom of just what pushed her over the edge. Her desperation to pin this on someone, finding an easy target to blame is also an understandable reaction, shown in Go Ah Sung’s steely-eyed determined performance.

A non-preachy film that does not take any particular sides, it does not make the mistake of having any real clear villains. It is true that Cheon Ji was failed by those around her, but the blame game is not what the film is ultimately interested in. In never glorifying or shaming the acts depicted here, “Thread of Lies” is a movie suitable for all, one that reminds us all of the power of words and actions, no matter how small and insignificant we deem them to be.