Annually, millions of Korean young and old spend exorbitant amounts of money to “fix” something that for many does not need fixing, their Asian accent. Though nothing more than a vain attempt to look more sophisticated in the eyes of many a detractor, for many of them it is a matter of life and death for nothing but a perfect native pronunciation would make them be taken seriously in the prejudiced West. Such seems to be the case with the young actors in Kyung Son Kim's short “Daytime Moon.”
“Daytime Moon” is screening at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Film Festival
During an audition for a movie that casts Asian actors without an Asian accent, Dehyung (played by Yun Jeong), a Korean actor living in America, meets his ex-girlfriend Rebecca (played by Vivian Ahn) by chance. While rehearsing with one another, aspects of their shared past and views on being Asian in America come to the surface.
Though ostensibly about the chance meeting between to ex-lovers and the nature of the art of acting, at heart “Daytime Moon” is about the need for Asians living in America to conform to the very narrow expectations imposed on them by the American society. Though best seen in the scene of Dehyung's audition, this theme is hinted numerous times through the film.
Take for example the audition scene. In it, the silhouettes of what seems to be the casting director and the movie director tell Dehyung bluntly that they need either native speaker without even the slightest accent, and as such is thoroughly Americanized actor or a person who has the “typical” Asian accent and as a result, oriental and exotic. As such, Kim speaks about the innate bias and racism of stereotyping people and not letting them be what they are, which results in denying them their identity and forcing them to conform to the already established stereotypes.
Anton Shavlik's restrained cinematography full of long shots filled with subdued colors and minuscule movement, coupled with Arndt Werling's unobtrusive editing create a very compelling atmosphere in which the viewers can concentrate on Yun Jeong's performance. Yet restrained does not mean boring or inept, not at all. The framing is exquisite, yet realistic, with numerous beautifully positioned horizontal and vertical lines that might to a degree be considered as a visual opposition of the need for the characters to exist in the simplistic two-dimensional expectations of society.
Yun Jeong gives a subtle performance as the young Dehyung who tries his best to “fix” his not-quite-Asian accent in his desire to get the role, make a living, and possibly fit better and get recognized and accepted. His Dehyung is very fluent in English, eloquent, even, with a nice diction and rich vocabulary, but “plagued” by just the slightest accent. Yet, this is not the typical exaggerated Asian accents. No, it's one that is uniquely his own, making him exist between the two accepted norms, and for that, belonging to neither.
A beautiful and thought-provoking film, “Daytime Moon” is a worthy addition to Kyung Sok Kim's filmography and a poignant study on one of the biggest and most important difficulties many Asians living in America feel forced to overcome.
