Title: Little Forest (2018)
Directed by: Yim Soom-rye
Rating: 4/5.0

“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬?”
“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺.”

You know it’s hard to watch metaphoric movies nowadays without me being too deep and over-deconstucting it. Good thing I watched this back when I had a vacation in Bicol. Laid back vacay = laid back movies. My mom and I enjoyed this one a lot we watched it twice.

I remembered telling my dad about this movie cause it somehow answers why I can’t settle in my hometown. My therapy is my hometown but the opportunities are in the city.

What’s with this movie? Just a simple young woman who escape the disappointments of city life and moves back to her hometown. A slice-of-life, light and endearing drama of finding what you really want in life, contentedness and at the same time setting roots. PLUS it wonders on different culinary cinematography.

What I liked about this movie? Its unhurried pace and focus on the in-between rather than the ending. The movie had this four ‘arc’ that parallels the four seasons—winter, spring, summer, and fall. And with every season, Hye-won cultivates (literally and figuratively) a part of her self-esteem to continue with life. A year-long healing. We have to remember that building up your self-esteem, your hope, and your life takes time. And it’s therapeutic—how she reap what she sow with every dishes she creates with her harvest. A good karma after several years of scraping and lamenting for fastfood and convenience store meals. A good way to appreciate agriculture too. There’s also a lot to tell about the friendship with Jae-ha and Eun-sook which is funny how they mirror every yuppies in rural and urban community looks at this field called ‘adulting’ and how they react to it.

Another hook for this movie is the recurring flashbacks of the mother-daughter dynamics as Hye-won recreate her mom’s recipes. One of the emotional core of the movie—sweet and heartwarming.

Warning though, this movies isn’t for empty stomach. The power of homecooked dishes is strong with this one. 🤤🍛

Thank you Jessel for this recommendation!