Synopsis
Serve the People, directed by Jang Cheol-soo, is a 2022 South Korean film based on the Chinese novel by Yan Lianke with the same title. The film is set during the 1970’s communist regime of a fictional socialist country, exploring the ideas of conformity, authority, self-identity, and personal liberation. While the film offers more mature themes in its original form, this paper captures the essence of the film with a focus on the emotional and political themes, the journey of the characters, and the profound artistry of the film.
Mu Gwang is a central figure and a soldier commended for his discipline and work ethic. He has been reassigned to a remote military base to work for a general’s family. Gwang is a true patriot and is a recipient of the country’s ideological indoctrination that makes him relish the compliance with orders he is issued, believing that following commands and completing the assigned work is the purest form of dedication to his country.
When he reaches his new post, he is assigned the duty of house maintenance for the officer who is away. Here, he is introduced to Su-ryun, officer’s wife who lives in a life of quiet boredom and emotional distance because of her husband’s prolonged absences. Different from the others, Su-ryun, the officer’s wife, seems to bring along a quiet boredom and emotional distance due to her husband’s prolonged absences. A certain complex, emotional bond starts to unfold with Mu Gwang and Su-ryun. Their initially tense and formal interactions gradually progress into the realm of the profound as they experience honesty and emotional exposure in their exchanges.
What occurs is not only a personal narrative, but a story reflecting the greater social and psychological pains cast within rigid ideological confines. Mu Gwang starts to undergo a world view transformation. His previous understanding of ‘serving the people’ and the unquestioning obedience to it starts to give way to a new recognition of freedom, emotional honesty, moral autonomy, and the far greater importance of personal individuality.
Characters and Cast
Mu Gwang – Portrayed by Yeon Woo-jin
Mu Gwang is a soldier who is disciplined and restrained. His life centers around loyalty to the state and the life of an ordered and rational soldier. In the relationship with Su-ryun, he comes to realize his own wants regarding the delineation between duty and self-identity. Yeon Woo-jin delivers a brilliant performance precisely and powerfully demonstrating the internal struggle of a man within the ordered confinements of society, expectation, and self-identification.
Su-ryun – Portrayed by Ji An
Su-ryun is the spouse of a senior officer. From the outside, she appears to be emotionally composed and polite, but she is also emotionally isolated and politely disobedient. In interaction with Mu Gwang, she discloses the emotional alterations of the massive system and rigid order around her. Ji An enriches the performance of a character who would be bland without her assistance by demonstrating the emotional disarray of the character, her need for relations, and the need for her to be understood.
The General
Even if he is mostly absent, the officer exemplifies the rigid face of power and of the system. His power and ideals shape the world of the characters, even if he is absent on the screen.
Direction and Cinematic Style
Bedevilled (2010) is among the works of Director Jang Cheol-soo. With Serve the People, he adopts a more restrained and symbolic vision. The film is not focused on action, but rather on the nuanced portrayals, silences, and quiet conversations that articulate the characters’ inner dispositions.
The world of the characters is rigid, and this is mirrored in the tone and the composition of the frames. Many scenes are shot and staged in contained, symmetrical spaces, which symbolize control, order, and the absence of personal freedom. In contrast, the unrestrained emotional state of the characters is hinted by the natural settings–forests, rivers, and mountains.
This film, in contrast to the typical Hollywood production, does not rush through sequences. The characters are offered ample opportunity to develop on screen and breathe, which invites contemplation of the characters and their actions. The audience is encouraged to reflect on the film, as the characters do, the question of living authentically.
Themes and Symbolism
- Service and Obedience
As the title of the film suggests, the audience is invited to contemplate the meaning of the political slogan, “Serve the people.” To what degree does “serving the people” necessitate unquestioning compliance to authority? Or can there be room for personal judgment and conscience? For Mu Gwang, the shift in his position from a passive subordinate to someone with critical and emotional awareness captures this conflict.
- Emotional Repression
Both characters operate within a system that demands they exercise emotional restraint. Su-ryun, as a loyal officer’s wife, is bound to her duty, and Mu Gwang is conditioned to emotionally and dutifully repress himself. The film indicates that emotional repression can be just as real as political restraint.
- The Human Cost of Ideology
The film does not critique politics in the traditional sense, but rather showcases the isolating impact of uncompromising ideologies. The characters’ desire for connection is not purely personal, but a deep yearning for a life that exists outside of slogans and regulations.
- Personal Awakening
Mu Gwang’s evolution is pivotal to the narrative. What starts as a simple mission morphs into a journey of self-realization beyond the identity of a soldier. His transformation is soft, yet it signifies the notion of change starting from within.
Production and Artistic Choices
The set design illustrates the world of the characters: the stark interiors and the beautiful outdoors. The minimalist style of wood, iron, and the military architecture of the spaces evokes a feeling of oppression, while the outdoors offers emotional release.
Costumes serve the narrative as well. Mu Gwang’s military uniform signifies his unchanging position in the hierarchy and Su-ryun’s elaborate, yet constrained, dress mirrors the oppression.
The score corresponds to the emotional intensity of a scene. The score’s minimalism allows the actors and their emotions to communicate as their primary language.
Reception and Interpretation
Serve the People has received critical attention for its bold narrative and its intellectually engaging theme. Critics appreciate the film for its emotional portrayal of life within a rigid ideological framework, even though it touches on mature themes.
Viewers who relish slow, character-centric narratives will appreciate this film. It does not provide simple solutions or climactic conclusions, but it does give one a contemplative view of a complex heart under the pressures of conformism.
Conclusion
Serve the People is still a film, albeit an affecting one, about the faceless demands of living in a world of compliance. It is intensely personal, focusing on a soldier and a lonely woman, and asks the question, where does one draw the line between duty and identity? What is the value of serving? Not to a system, but to one’s own truth.
Serve the People is a notable work. It attests to personal freedom, emotional bravery, and the still changing force of the soul and the more subtle intricacies of the craft. It is a likeable piece, complex, with substantial emotional content, in the company of excellent cinematography and the stillness of the people’s performances.
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