Mei-Gong YANG (Novelist)

This year’s unit “Chronicle of Youth” in the Women Make Waves Film Festival includes three long films and one short one: A Brand New Life is a mellow, tear-jerking narrative; Dear Lemon Lima is light-hearted and encouraging; Mall Girls has won wide acclaim in its own country, Poland; (Be)longing chronicles the life of a group of teenage girls who are illegal residents in England. Based on true stories and realistic characters, the directors represent different young souls of various class, culture, and historical backgrounds.

Internationally acclaimed, the Korean film A Brand New Life is adapted from the director’s personal experience, and has amazed the world from the moment of its release. With the delicate shots, mature film cutting, and impeccable acting, directed by the famous director Changdong LEE, the film vividly shows the inner struggle of a nine-year-old girl who is abandoned by her father.

For the heroine, the fact that her most beloved father does not keep his promise of taking her home mark her young life in the cruelest way possible. She refuses to face the truth and thus struggles painfully; escaping from the orphanage and even attempting suicide. As she watches her companions being fostered one by one, she gradually changes her mind ─ she should stop waiting for her father. Finally, she learns that the world still has kindness and salvation in store for her.

The short film (Be)longing can be regarded as another chapter of A Brand New Life. The children being legally adopted and those who are brought to foreign countries illegally meet completely different fates, in terms of their social condition and social status. The director uses close-up shots of five girls by the river, as well as the views of their backs walking together in the rain, with off-screen monologues. This leaves the audience with an impression of their awkward situation, their unknown destiny, and a sense of loss.

Besides the issue of “belonging,” it has been a common problem for today’s teenagers to search for self-identity and identification in a world swept by consumerism. As it gradually becomes a social signifier, its omnipresent oppression has already permeated the young peers.

The Polish film Mall Girls begins with teenage girls loitering in the local shopping mall. They fulfill their lack of love and care by shopping, and pursue their self-value through sexual transactions, money, commodities, and good looks. The leading character, Alicja, is a nice, obedient girl, who, longing to be recognized by her rebellious peers, finally becomes one of them. Transformed from a so-called “good girl” to a “bad girl.” Alicja brings forward the difficulty all young adults are faced with ─ that is, the puzzling process of growth that all the parents also wish to unravel.

By means of “compensated-dating,” the heroine wants to earn not just cash, but also friendship, identification, and a sense of belonging. The cell phone is not merely a functional commodity; it is also a functional signifier in interpersonal relationship and self-identity. What remains hidden is the helplessness and confusion the young generation confronts in a time of rapidly changing social values; a grave problem that brings bitterness to youth.

Not unrelated to the powerful issues initiated by Mall Girls, Dear Lemon Lima describes a middle-class girl’s chronicles of growing up. Under the same peer pressure, the leading character, Vanessa, plucks up her courage to organize a team of marginalized schoolmates to fight against the popular ones. Finally, they have won not only the competition but also, more importantly, the love and friendship of one other.

This year’s films are of a strong realistic style. They have crossed the cultural boundaries to present the predicaments facing the younger generation, with multi-faceted observations. The directors expound through camera the wonders and agony of enlightened moments in youth, sowing the seeds of a bountiful period in life and giving their audience much food for thought.