A thought provoking film that leaves you wondering about justice, society, innocence and so much more.
Kang In-ho (Gong Yoo) is the newly appointed art teacher at Benevolence Academy, a school for hearing-impaired children in the fictional city of Mujin, North Jeolla Province. He has a dark past - his wife was a high school student who committed suicide and his daughter is under the care of his mother. He is excited to teach his new students, yet the children are aloof and distant, trying to avoid running into him as much as possible. In-ho does not give up, however, trying to show the kids that he cares. When the children finally open up, In-ho faces the shocking and ugly truth about the school and what the students have been enduring in secret: the children are being physically and sexually abused by their teachers. When he decides to fight for the children’s rights and expose the crimes being committed at the school, In-ho teams up with human rights activist Seo Yoo-jin (Jung Yoo-mi). But he and Yoo-jin soon realize the school’s principal and teachers, and even the police, prosecutors and churches in the community are actually trying to cover up the truth."- wiki
Beware before starting this film, you will see some graphic scenes involving rape in a few different forms.
Kang In-Ho (Gong Yoo) appears as a new art teacher for the hearing impaired and the mentally unfit. He is a man that is down on his luck but he cares about his students in a good way. He is a brilliant teacher who tries to get the children to trust him enough to teach them. Kang IN-Ho discovers that a few of the kids in the class are being raped by the principal and a few other faculty members. Kang In-Ho can choose to ignore it like his mother wants him to or fight back for the silent. He chooses to fight back for the sake of good and breaking the normal put your head down and just keep on walking mentally in Korean society. He is a well-done character and I applaud his efforts.
Seo Yoo-Jin (Jung Yu-Mi) is an employee at the human rights center who causes a minor accident at the beginning of the film. She is one of the first people that Kang In-Ho meets in the town. Seo Yoo-Jin is a strong woman that fights for what is right and is not afraid of consequences. She is totally appalled when Kang In-Ho confides in her, what he knows what happens at the school he is teaching at. She chooses to fight alongside Kang In-Ho and the children.
Yoo- Ri (Jung In-Seo) truly took my heart in this film, she is a character that's smile will brighten up your day and when she reveals what is really happening to her your heart might just drop. This character was such a tragic one, who proves to be a strong little girl even in the face of true evil.
Yeon-Doo (Kim Hyun-Soo) is the leader of the three kids and probably the strongest one. She is close to Yoo-Ri and is the first girl to come forward with what happens to some of the children at the school. She was a brave girl that warms your heart as well.
Min-Soo (Baek Seung-Hwan) the oldest in the group of children, his younger brother dies at the beginning of the film which helps him come out to seek justice. In the end, he learns about life and not all of it is good. Min-Soo is such a tragic character, it is hard to see him suffer so much.
All the actors in this film were fantastic, they truly shook my heart with their performances which is such a rare occasion. The scenes that some of them had to film were so disgusting and so heartbreaking to see I don't know how they made it through filming.
It truly breaks my heart to know that these events are based on actual events that a brave Korean female writer, Kong Ji-Young, tried to bring to public after the events disappeared from mainstream knowledge.
I won't add the also appear in section to this post because it doesn't seem right too.
3.8/5
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