By Ally Bahri
“Samjin Company English Class” sounds like it could be a spin-off of the old sitcom “Mind Your Language” by Vince Powell, where a British man would teach English to immigrants. However, this comedy-drama is way more than just about learning English. Samjin Company is promoting their employees, who score 600 or higher on their TOEIC test, to Assistant Managers. They are providing their employees with English classes to help them do better on said TOEIC tests hence, the title. However, the title does not fully encapsulate what happens in this movie. It follows three brave women who are going up against corporate corruption and environmental issues, all while trying to navigate sexist office politics and to earn the promotions they have been waiting for.
If you love accurate portrayals of relatable female characters, who you will immediately fall in love with, be prepared for Lee Ja-Young, Jung Yoo-Na, and Shim Bo-Ram; a trio of best friends who will stop at nothing till they achieve their dreams and get justice. Ja-Young (Go Ah-sung) is a member of Production Management Team 3 who only does menial tasks even though she has managerial potential. Yoo-Na (Esom) is part of the Marketing Team but only stands by as the help, when she is more than capable of coming up with creative marketing ideas. Bo-Ram (Park Hye-Su) is an Olympiad-winning Math prodigy whose only job is to balance bar receipts for the Accounting Team. Their talents go unnoticed and that just makes you want to root for them to succeed even more. The trio's on-screen chemistry feels so natural that it will make you start thinking about your own best friends and the times you have had together. Their friendship pulls at the heartstrings and shows just how far friends would go to help each other out.
Ja-Young, being someone who is unable to stand around and let her higher-ups get away with an unjustly cover-up, teams up with her best friends to uncover the truth behind the toxic wastewater spill from her company's factory. As much as they try to speak up about it, nobody will believe them unless they have concrete evidence proving that someone had purposefully suppressed the findings on how toxic the spill actually was. These women do not cower down in silence. They want to find justice for the townsfolk who are getting sick because of the toxic spill.
The corporate take-down aspect of the plot definitely makes one reflect on how much impact the female voice and power actually have in such a male-dominated industry. The trio are true representations of how women were treated in industries that, sterotypically, did not belong to.
Since the story is set in 1995, the scenes manage to capture the softer and warmer look I know and love from movies in the 90s. Its overall tone adds to the quaintly-dated feel of the different environments the cast are in. The visual allure makes you appreciate how beautiful the shots are, even when the characters are discussing serious topics.
Director Lee Jong-Pil's contrast of the woman's role in the workplace with the men she is meant to “serve”, provides us with insight into the sexist office culture during that time period. It presents itself in scenes where the men are treating the women exactly how they say they do not want to be treated by their own bosses. The contradictory behaviour of the men captures just how blind they are to their own mistreatment towards their female colleagues.
The subtle foreshadowing planted throughout the storyline helps it to be more compelling because you get a sense of what the characters might go through. A poster Ja-Young notices seems to be so insignificant but the writing on it, “One Must Join Forces with Others to Change the World,” is a motto the trio channel to expose the cover-up. Finding allies in other women, who were in the same position as them, brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Girl Power!”.
This feel-good film entertains by keeping the excitement alive through its plot twists and it will certainly make you feel proud of the people you have just watched. It also helps inspire us to go out and stand up for something that we believe in. “Samjin Company English Class” is a visually pleasing, heartwarming comedy-drama that navigates the woman's role in a corporate workplace incredibly.
