Return to Seoul

Return to Seoul revels in the possibilities of perpetual drift. Freddie’s relationships with her birth parents, her adoptive parents, and herself remain in flux.

Don't believe the K-dramas. Look to "Return to Seoul" for a more realistic view on Korean adoptees.

This fantastic film is just as much the creation of its star, Park Ji-min, a French-Korean visual artist who had never acted before. She gives an extraordinary performance as Freddie.

It’s all about the unsteadiness and volatility of being and belonging with a beautiful melody to hold on to in the end.

It is in that gap – between self-protection and exposure; between theory and reality – that this spirited, stimulating film finds its resonance.

This is so fluid, and dynamic, and liberated in its style.

Like the best stories, Return to Seoul understands that people contain multitudes, that in our quest for ourselves we don’t always do everything the most pragmatic way, and that can make us tough to like sometimes.

Davy Chou and Park Ji-Min sensitively translate the chaos of defining one’s identity.

Davy Chou's Return to Seoul is the immigrant-life-that-could've-been film I most connected with in a visceral way this year.

Park Ji-min's performance is believable as she gives life to a character intially unlikeable and with whom we ultimately empathize. [Full review in Spanish]