In the field of animation, the technological advances in combination with a creator's imagination can lead to truly astounding works, as the features directed by Satoshi Kon have proven. However, this does not solely concern aspects such as world or character building, but more specifically the depiction of complex political, psychological and social themes. Sadly, only a few people working in the field of animation have truly taken advantage of the opportunities at hand, making the few exceptions stand out. After a few collaborations on other projects and working on 2D animation, Korean director Kim Hye-mi decided to venture into the area of 3D animation with her feature “Climbing”, which won the Special Jury Prize at Ulju Mountain Film Festival. Its story revolves around issues like trauma, loss and gender roles, in a narrative combining thriller and drama.
Climbing is screening at London Korean Film Festival
For many years, Choi Se-hyeon has been a professional climber, participating in many international competitions and winning many awards for her accomplishments. However, after a terrible accident resulting in the loss of her unborn child, she seems unstable to her husband Woo-jin, a salary man, her trainer as well as her mother-in-law. Unwilling (or incapable) of giving in to the demands of other people to take it easy and become less worried about her performances in future competitions, she maintains a strict training routine and a diet. To make matters worse, she suspects her trainer favors another climber over her, making her invest even more time and energy into her training.
In the meantime, Se-hyeon receives mysterious text messages from a cell phone she found and suffers from terrible nightmares about the accident, as well as the period of recovery. Even though she cannot believe it at first, the texts seem to come from herself, more particularly a different self whose life after the accident has been going in a different direction and, more importantly, who has not lost the child. When Se-hyeon notices how the life of her other self affects her, she decides to take drastic steps in order to fulfill her dream of winning the world championship in climbing.
In the interview with Asian Movie Pulse, director Kim Hye-mi explains how the experience of being pregnant, and the accompanying anxiety influenced the narrative of “Climbing”. Indeed, her main character, voiced by actress Kim Min-ji, faces a number of challenges revolving her pregnancy, or rather, different sets of expectation she tries to meet, while at the same time dealing with the emotional repercussions of the accident. The metaphorical image of the character climbing, her success and her failure, refers to these ideas Kim Hye-mi has implemented in her script, while also suggesting her individual goals and those set by others might have caused a more fundamental psychological breakdown.
Over the course of the feature, the notion of split narratives and personalities, expressed by the two versions of the protagonist, leads to an interesting blend of time, space and themes. Perhaps the most fascinating (and disturbing) aspect is how the two lives, their actions and their results bleed into the life of the other, affecting the aforementioned ability to meet a set of goals. The 3D animation, while still a bit stiff and artificial at times, contributes to the feeling of uncertain realities and who might be the real Choi Se-hyeon.
In conclusion, “Climbing” offers a mix of psychological thriller and drama, telling a story about identity and gender roles. Kim Hye-mi manages to create a compelling narrative, even though the animation, while vital to the story, might also irritate its audience.
