With a Girl of Black Soil

A hidden gem, a precious film, a thing of beauty and a stunning dance of reality. Coincidentally, I landed on the page Jeon Soo Il and was intrigued by posters of his films. Obviously, I searched for his films and it turns out that he is not that popular with no seeds for almost his every film.

What better a cinema can be than the one which envelopes you in a world of its own, overshadowing it's creator and leaving space for you to be in and witness horrible events through the eyes of a child for whom everything is fun and beautiful? With the Girl of Black Soil is a must watch!


Like always, read it after you watch it!

Opening up with a haunting scene of a child's dream, we see a girl looking at herself in the mirror, hazy. In a minimalist film where no camera movement was more than required, Jeon Soo Il has discovered a visual way of storytelling where every scene is conveying something without saying anything. A character driven film is not my general choice. However, Jeon's characters and landscapes drive you so unconsciously that you start to care about the family without even knowing. There is something called manipulation and that is something I am not sure whether all artists do or not, but personally, i won't choose to be cheated - and that's probably why I don't prefer it. This film, walked on a thin line between telling a story and trying to manipulate. Maybe the director isn't even aware of this, but he developed a sympathy towards a character and still tried not to manipulate our sympathies for anyone. The only thing I thought was like spoon feeding us was showing her father dying. I would urge and plead to the director or beg to remove the scene where her father suffers and puts his hands in his stomach in pain. There is no need for it - Save the master piece!

So far as direction is concerned, it was one of the most marvelous direction I have seen in recent years. The use of landscape, the dream, use of elements beyond the frame, poetic use of rhythmic sounds, brilliant use of natural lights in some scenes and the perfect knowledge of beauty of a frame makes Jeon Soo Il stand apart from any directors of his time.

The story is told in the language of film, rarely achieved by anyone these days. In my opinion, the director has excelled in his craft and what he is looking for is his 'art', his own personal artistic question which he has to explore through film-making.