About the Film
“A Petal” is a landmark film for Korean cinema, since it was the first that depicted the Gwanju Massacre realistically, signaling in that fashion, the change that was sweeping the country, after years of dictatorship. Jang Sun-woo was a member of the movement against the authoritarian regime and during the Gwanju events he was in prison for organizing students' demonstrations in Seoul. A little after his release, he turned to cinema, realizing he could use film to make social commentary. However, fifteen years would pass until he was able to shoot a film about the actual events of The Gwanju Massacre, with “A Petal”.
Synopsis
During the aforementioned incidents, and in the midst of gun firing from army troops, a 15-year-old-girl abandons her mother who has been hurt by multiple bullets, and runs to save herself. She roams the streets pointlessly, being psychologically traumatized by the events and eventually reaches the ragtag house of a construction worker and desperately attaches to him. He, however, is constantly infuriated by her silence, the empty looks, and the fact that she does not leave his house despite his continuous efforts. His frustration reaches a point where he starts to molest her any chance he gets, and particularly when he returns home drunk. As time passes, though, he begins to have actual feelings for the girl, as her pain and suffering begin to affect him. In the meanwhile, three friends of the girl search for her in the area.
