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Boomerang Family AKA Go-ryeong-hwa-ga-jok
R2 - United Kingdom - Third Window Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (6th February 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** In-mo gave up on life at 40. Han-mo is a pitiful 44-year-old freeloader. Mi-yun, at 35, has one failed marriage after another. Min-kyung is a 15-year-old spoiled brat. Their mother is a parenting failure. A peaceful household is disturbed by the return of a mother’s (Youn Yuh-Jung – The Housemaid, Behind the Camera) three grown children one after the other. The first is eldest is unemployed freeloader Han-mo (Yoon Je-Moon – Mother, The Good The Bad The Weird), second is failed film director In-mo (Park Hae-Il – The Host, Memories of Murder), and last is double divorcée Mi-yun (Kong Hyo-Jin – Guns & Talks, Volcano High). Having come back home after leaving the nest years before, they try their best to accommodate each other but constantly bicker and fight nonetheless. Thrown into the mix is Mi-yun’s teenaged daughter from one of her failed marriages, Mi-kyung. How will they ever manage to co-exist under one roof and hold on to a shred of dignity?
Video
Independent Asian cinema specialists Third Window Films have released "Boomerang Family" in the United Kingdom on DVD using the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 which has been anamorphically enhanced. The transfer has some flaws, but is certainly adequate. As is the norm these days for Third Window, the transfer is NTSC, so we do not get issues such as combing or ghosting that we often see in NTSC->PAL transfers that often litter the market. Unfortunately, we do have a couple of other issues here. The first of which, is some reasonably frequent edge enhancement, most notably around characters' suits. It isn't overly noticeable, but does encroach the transfer more than you'd expect for such a new film. The colour scheme used is very dark, and blacks are deep throughout, though shadow detail is often poor. Other details are generally good, and facial close-ups look great at times. One of the highlights of the transfer is the wedding scene, which is also one of the few scenes to use a lighter colour scheme. There are no obvious signs of damage to the print such as scratches or blemishes to speak of. Overall, the transfer is good, but it never quite makes the step up to being great. The feature runs 112:54.
Audio
There is a single audio track provided on the disc: Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Separation is minimal throughout the track, but the film is very much dialogue driven, with very few scenes which could've been more involving. Dialogue shows good clarity and sharpness at all times, and volume levels are consistent throughout the run time of the feature. As to be expected for such a new feature, there are no signs of any audio drop outs, scratches or background hiss. Optional subtitles are available in English.
Extras
We start off the extra features with the "Making of Boomerang Family" featurette, clocking in at 7:03. It features some behind the scenes b-roll footage along with some interview snippets of the main cast members, as well as director Hae-sung Song. It's an interesting but rather unsubstantial piece. One minor issue, is right at the start, there is some introductory test with Korean subtitles burnt-in. The English subtitles sometimes clash with this, and run slightly fast for my liking. Next up, an interview extra that is simply titled "Main Cast and Director Interview" (16:20). Filmed at the London Korean Film Festival at the tail end of 2013, it takes place in quite a relaxed setting. The interview does have several segments and answers in English depending on who is answering, but an interpreter is also present and re-iterates the questions and answers throughout. I think Third Window should have edited this down, and simply subtitled the answers instead of having the viewer watch both the Korean and interpreted answers. The interview asks good questions, and the answers are as in-depth as required, but it should be noted that the sound quality is rather poor. "Closing Gala and Q&A at London Korean Film Festival 2013" (43:18) is the final extra, and easily the highlight. It starts off with some red carpet footage, and also some autograph signing - and I have to say, when I see extras like this which shows just how much effort is put into film festivals and how many fans are keen on showing up, it kind of makes you proud of the entire film community in the UK. There is an introduction to the participants before the crowd views the film, and then we get the meaty question and answer session. We hear more about the basis of the story, the thinkings behind the characters, and the filming. For anyone who enjoyed the feature, this Q&A is a must, though it must be noted the camera man annoyingly moves about a lot before eventually settling down. We close out the extras with a theatrical trailer (1:14) and a weblink.
Overall
I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but it's an enjoyable drama with a smattering of very dark comedy. Although the family may be dysfunctional, there are many subtle touches to show how they also look out for each other. The A/V is good, but underwhelming, and there is a decent little package of extras.
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