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★★★★
Directed by: #KyungSokKim
Written by: #KyungSokKim
Cinematography by: Aakash Raj
Produced by: Kyung Sok Kim, Michelle Sun
Edited by: Arndt Werling, Yufei Skylar Zhang
Starring: #YunJeong, #JoaquinFarfan
Before returning to Korea for his marriage, a drifting young man visits his high school friend with a question that needs to be answered, resulting in an eventful night that neither anticipated in this intimate, reflective feature film.
Thursday’s Child (2019), written and directed by Korean filmmaker Kyung Sok Kim (whose short films have been screened at over fifty film festivals) follows Tim (Yun Jeong), an introverted writer, as he spends a night with his old friend Joe (Joaquin Farfan) and processes his life through an introspective, personal lens. The one hour drama is primarily presented in the English language as the movie was shot in Los Angeles, with some sequences depicted in the director’s native tongue, where English subtitles are provided.
The most compelling feature of the film is Aakash Raj’s gorgeous cinematography, where the wide aspect ratio of 1:85 : 1 perfectly captures the natural beauty of the beach landscapes. Soft, pastel colours with cool blues and warm oranges create an inviting, dreamy and immersive quality to the image, which is elevated by Kim’s entrancing direction. The camera lingers and reflects on shots for a longer period of time than the standard Hollywood pacing, allowing the peaceful vistas and visceral settings to convey the meditative tone effectively.
The film’s stunning sound design also enhances the immersive quality of the viewing experience, with natural sounds of waves crashing against the shoreline enveloping the ears. This is coupled with simple, yet melancholic and effective piano pieces composed by Miju Kang which are particularly impactful when implemented as the rest of the film features few musical cues.
Thursday’s Child offers an enriching cinematic experience and is a deliberately slow paced, intimate character study brought to stunning heights with its beautiful cinematography and captivating direction. An enticing piece with an abstract flair, this drama is highly recommended viewing.
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