“I am the evidence”

In her seventies, veteran actress Na Moon Hee swept up more than a dozen Best Actress trophies for her role as Na Ok Bun in “I Can Speak”. This is not at all surprising, only a little overdue. It clearly took some time for the right film to come along to propel her into the award spotlight, and this is a more than worthy project to have her name next to. What starts off as a light and breezy affair that focuses on an unlikely friendship, slowly develops into something far more serious that takes the characters across the continent.

Ok Bun is a cantankerous elderly single woman well-known in her village for being an absolute nightmare to local businesses. Accurately nicknamed the “Goblin Granny” among the residents, she has already lodged well over 8000 trivial complaints and she shows no signs of slowing down. One day she latches on to young government worker Park Min Jae (Lee Je Hoon) after hearing him speak English. She becomes oddly insistent on how he needs to be her English tutor, as self-studying is not really going anywhere. She is desperate to learn the language, but will not reveal the reason why this is the case. And so begins the unconventional tutor-student relationship between the mismatched pair.

It does not take long for Min Jae or the audience to figure out the real reason behind her enthusiasm. Turns out she has been hiding a painful and shameful past, and she is mustering up the courage to give an important testimony abroad to address this. To reveal any more than this would be a disservice to the plot, but it does take some incredibly shocking turns in the midst of what is initially sold as a quirky buddy comedy with an age gap.

Shifting between two such contrasting genres is hard work, and it is not something the script always gets right. Sometimes the pacing gets bogged down by trying to conceal too much of Ok Bun’s past. The most disappointing of all however is the wholly unnecessary descent into melodrama the film gets swept up in. Where it could have shown more restraint and quieter moments, it overplays its distracting orchestral soundtrack and relies on the over dramatics from its actors.

That is not to say the film does not carry some substantial emotional weight. Ok Bun’s final testimony is a thoroughly memorable and shocking one, delivered so expertly by Na in both Korean and English. What a privilege it is to watch the veteran actress do what she does best, in a complex leading role, a rarity for an actress of a certain age, and in two languages no less. Seeing her character get to that stage of confidently standing in front of a large committee to share her harrowing story is the pay-off the audience deserves to see and is wonderfully crafted. As her on-screen partner, Lee is also a more than worthy match for the actress, providing both light-hearted comic relief as well as the additional dramatic flare.

Based on traumatising historical events that continue to alarm to this day, the sensitive topics are incorporated into the plot and used in such a way that it pays tribute to those who have suffered. It will not undo the atrocities they faced but it acknowledges the pain – just like Ok Bun does in the final few moments of the film. By facing the harsh reality of the past, it not only aims to hold those perpetrators accountable, but also hopes that we learn something from the countless mistakes of those before us. And for that, the bravery of the film and everyone it is based on deserves praise and respect.