Being a member of a community, including a religious one such as an evangelical Protestant church, is a fundamental part of life in Korean society and possibly even more so of Koreans living in other countries. Yet, there are very few films that deal with the role of the Christian community for the life of Asian-Americans in general and Korean American in particular. That is, until Eugene Suen's debut short “Master of Divinity.”
“Master of Divinity” is screening at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Film Festival
The film tells the story of the ex-seminarian turned director Josh (played by Jun Kim) whose hard-working church-going wife Irene (played by Jennifer Soo) sees a prophecy from the Holy Spirit during a prayer meeting at church. The prophecy tells her to quit her difficult job. Incidentally, her job is also the only means for the family to keep afloat as Josh is in the process of thinking about planning on writing a masterpiece. So, he plans on getting a prophecy himself, one that tells her to continue supporting him.
An ex-seminarian himself, Eugene Suen writes and directs a movie that is incredibly funny in its mockery of the strange practices of organized religion. Yet, at the same time, it is also thoughtful in its study of the role of religion and its community, not that much as a means for the people to connect with the divine or get prophecies, but rather to gather strength and courage to make difficult decisions and possibly make their lives better.
Jun Kim, Jennifer Soo, and Johnny Kwon, portraying the church pastor, give brilliant performances as the three main characters in this short story. Jun Kim plays Josh with a constant smirk, as if he is better than anyone else in the church, including his dedicated wife, simply because he has finished divinity school and knows much more than the others, including the pastor. Yet, there is something slightly childish about him. He sighs, makes faces, and looks overly grumpy just to convey his strong disinterest and disagreement with the community and its practices. Johnny Kwon, on the other hand, plays the barbecue waiter turned pastor of a small community with friendliness and single-minded faith in the Divine that verges on the idiotic, which manages to be both hilarious, but also slightly scary.
The interesting story and brilliant acting are supported by the beautiful cinematography by Irvin Liu and the elegant editing by the Oscar-nominated director Daniel Raim. The shots are beautifully composed with appealing color choices and use of light. There is a very interesting play between light and darkness, especially in the church scenes where the main character is lit a bit darker than the rest, as if to show visually his scorn for the entire mindless enterprise.
Speaking about the church scenes, their setting, with its dark and somewhat dingy interior filled with cheap purple chairs and sullen-looking individuals, is a beauty to behold. Were it not for the anemic hymns sung by the pastor on top of music played on an old boombox, I would've thought it is an AA meeting. It's simply hilarious in the authenticity of its depiction of underground Korean churches.
“Master of Divinity” is a devilishly funny and thought-provoking short film that sheds some light on an underrepresented part of the life of the Korean Americans, namely that of being a part of a Christian community. It is also a splendid debut and sure display of Eugene Seun's talent as a filmmaker.
