“Three Sisters (세자매)”, written and directed by Lee Seung-won, was brought to us by the Korean Cultural Center in Canada. It is a film worth watching for many reasons. I started watching without reading the synopsis, and I had no idea what to expect. As the movie progressed, I found myself captivated by each of the characters and their life stories.

Overall, the stories are sad, tumultuous, yet very real at the same time. I think many of us can relate to at least one of these situations or have heard of such stories from others.

The three main actresses cast to represent the three sisters (Kim Sun-Young, Moon So-Ri and Jang Yoon-Ju) have done an outstanding job portraying their characters in a guttural manner. At times hard to digest, the pain felt by each sister reverberated throughout their performance during the entire film.

 

The eldest sister struggles with a life lived in poverty due to bad decisions regarding marriage and career choices. She struggles with health issues and with a moody teenager, as well as an aloof husband who is not really present in her life. She is overly apologetic and takes on the blame for everything that is going on around her. While I found her character to be very kind to the point of exhaustion, however, the people around her did not seem to be worthy of receiving her kindness. 

 

The middle sister was the wealthiest in the family, a devout Christian working at a church. She led an apparent good life until she realized her husband was cheating on her. The excuse was her extremely regimented behaviour at home and in her marriage that led her husband to seek solace elsewhere. This situation always posits the question of who is right in the end, and is cheating justified? I also found it ironic that the cheating happened in the one household that was devout and Christian and prayed before every activity. I think the movie did a good job accentuating these discrepancies and underlining that human flaw is not exclusive to a specific belief system.

 

The youngest sister was probably the luckiest in her marriage as her husband loved her despite her idiosyncrasies and how she treated him. She was a screenwriter, albeit not very successful, which meant she also struggled financially. By the end of the film, I found myself most impressed with the youngest sister. There is one particularly poignant moment at the dinner table, which was a turning point for this character on her path to changing her life. 

 

The climax of the film happens when the three sisters go to their parents’ home for their father’s birthday. At that moment, we understand what happened to them and what made them lead the lives they currently lead. The ending is quite hopeful, and I think it teaches us that families will often find a way to stay together, despite the ebbs and flows of life.

I hope you enjoy watching it.

 

Thank you for reading.

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#threesisters #koreanculturalcentercanada #koreanmovie #kcinema #한국영화 #세자매

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