Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2 [LKFF 2015]: “Absolutely brilliant.”

Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2: Everything a great documentary should be.

Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2 review

We all love a good underdog story, and the less likely success looks, the more entertaining it can be for us. But what can often be forgotten is how many people all around the world are fighting the system and being very poorly mistreated. One of the worst such cases is represented in Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2 a documentary that follows a group of elderly villagers as they take on the big power companies and the police to try and prevent them from building 52 transmission towers on their land.

Starting off like a deleted scene from The Blair Witch Project, we follow a couple of elderly Korean ladies as they skulk onto a construction site. They discuss, in not exactly soft language, how they’ve been mistreated, before vandalising some of the equipment with spray paint. The two women seem enthused with youth and a sense of rebellion, but the darker elements soon creep in.

Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2 review

It turns out that a small group of farmers are victimised by huge corporations as well as the government, with democratic procedures completely ignored. Director Park Bae Il captures the everyday lives of these farmworkers (mostly female) with astonishing heart and compassion. We start by getting to know these remarkable women as they recount parts of their personalities and history. One woman enjoys talking to her chilis, while another tells the heartbreaking story of being married off to avoid becoming a comfort woman for Japanese forces, only for her husband to be taken away years after the war suspected of being a communist, with her son later volunteering to fight in Vietnam as if his application is accepted it will show his missing father was never charged with being a communist; that’s a film in itself right there.

Park sets the pace and tone remarkably well, and has all the ingredients of a blockbuster. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a fictionalised account in the future. There are intense protest sequences where the police are shown roughing up these elderly farmers, while being completely baffled by their resolve. The locals wrap chains around their necks, and some women get topless. Their screams are piercing and haunting, while there is also comedy thrown in as we see the ridiculousness of dozens of police officers surrounding and chasing old women while they poke the police with sticks.

Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2 review

Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2 also shows us great tragedy and extreme injustice. The media reports complete lies, such as protests passing without incidence, despite numerous farmers ending up in hospital, while a man takes his own life only for the media to claim it was due to family issues.The police and power companies have the nerve to send flowers, even though public mourning is denied. We get into the nitty gritty of politics, as we discover the power plants supplying these transmission towers have used the wrong parts, and billion dollar deals with the United Arab Emirates, means politicians are willing to step over these hard workers.

Park’s film is everything a great documentary should be. It has an engaging true life tale, while also presenting it in a strong narrative form. Park gives us the right mixture of emotions, and knows which characters to focus on while not losing sight of the big picture. He also creates fantastic images, such as filming a tower from underneath so that it looks like a web, trapping everything it touches. The final protest is also presented in just sound, while we see the farmers enjoying a meal together the night before, both representing the horror while showing what a true community is. Shocking, inspiring, infuriating, and unforgettable. This is absolutely brilliant.

Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2 review by Luke Ryan Baldock, November, 2015.

Miryang Arirang – Legend Of Miryang 2 screened at the London Korean Film Festival 2015 as part of their documentary strand.