Don't Cry, Mommy

Don't Cry Mommy was released in 2012 and is a crime drama film. The plot bases itself around the struggles of those who suffer as victims from sexual abuse. Director Kim Yong-han claimed that he created this film to raise awareness of the effects of sex crimes that destroy the lives of the victim and their families.

Plot

Recently divorced Yoo-lim is happily living with her daughter, Eun-ah, after the struggles of child custody drove them apart. Now having Eun-ah starting over at a new high school, Yoo-lim looks forward to the coming year. What she doesn't know is Eun-ah being frequently bullied by classmates and falling for a rather mysterious and shady character known as Jo-han.

One day, Eun-ah's attraction to Jo-han proves itself fatal as he and two of his friends brutally rape her only to threaten her afterwards that they'd upload the footage online so she'd keep quiet. Due to the three assailants being minors, the law couldn't prosecute them to the full extent and only one person was given a sentence of two-year probation.

Yoo-lim, broken at the sight of her daughter who then ends up taking her life, vows to avenge her.

Overall

When Kim Yong-han explained that he would bring as much insight on the ordeal of rape victims, he wasn't lying. This is a very graphic movie that has two scenes I just couldn't handle, so a fair warning before anyone decides to look into this themselves. From previous stories I've seen where South Korean law has failed to prosecute fully on sex crimes, research proves that in the past three years, they've toughened up in handling these cases and have changed the way they approach these cases.

From movies like Silenced and Mother Vengeance that spotlight the lives of male and female victims of all ages and backgrounds, we as the audience are supposed to feel uncomfortable and outraged at the fact that those who suffer psychological wounds after such a traumatic ordeal are left to fend for themselves.

Don't Cry Mommy really highlights the destruction of Eun-ah's life as a seventeen year old girl who had her future set out for herself. I was also interested in seeing Shin Dongho as it's my first time watching a movie where he played the ill-fated teen that caught the rape on video.

This movie portrayed a very important message that I've come to find a pattern in many others that involve the stories of sex crimes in South Korea. The justice system fails all of these people and it's up to them to take matters into their own hands. Yoo-lim's character found herself on the brink of insanity when having people blame Eun-ah for being raped, saying that she reached out to Jo-hand and "asked for it". And soon after Eun-ah had taken her life, it was Yoo-lim's fault because she wasn't there for her daughter.

We see not only the life of Eun-ah being completely destroyed in a matter of scenes but also the sick and twisted minds of her rapists harassing and humiliating her with the video tape. Of course, by the end when we find out Jo-han—though not having participated in the act of raping Eun-ah—filmed the whole thing himself and planned it, Yoo-lim has already killed the two other offenders and is coming after him to finish the job.

I'm not very critical with this plot because I understand Kim Yong-han's views of wanting to elaborate on how every life is touched by the events of one. Though, I highly recommend for those who are interested to think twice because the depth of this movie is very graphic.