North Korean defectors' harrowing escapes are well-documented. But what about those who wish to return? That less-common tale is rarely told. Which is exactly what makes Yi Seung-un's Shadow Flowers — which had its North American premiere in MoMA's Doc Fortnight — so curious. This feature-length documentary concerns Kim Ryun-hee, a decidedly tenacious woman who left North Korea in search of better medical treatment only to find herself trapped in South Korea unable to return. She certainly leaves no stone unturned: She brands herself a spy, engages in passive resistance, attempts suicide, holds press conferences, seeks assistance from the Vietnamese consulate, and networks with fellow ex-pats. Yet time and again, her effort to get back to her husband and daughter is met with bureaucratic delays. Even her renegade act of connecting with North Korean players at a good will hockey game is met with a wall of yellow-vested bodies that prevent her from making physical contact of any kind.
Over seven years in, government leadership may have experienced drastic upheavals in Seoul but Kim consistently appears no closer to success than she did when she arrived. "The kitchen appliances are better," Rhee quips at one point about South Korea but she also notes that her totalitarian regime had free healthcare, reasonable work hours, and built-in retirement plans. When she argues with a lone older protestor about dictator Kim Jong-un, the man-on-the-street's reply is "Go back to your own country" to which she responds: "I can't." After that, somewhat bewildered, he comments, "I need a smoke" then puts down his protest sign. Perhaps Yi's film can pick up where Kim's enemies left off.
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