Last Child

A married couple who run a small interior decorating business have yet to get over the death of their son Eunchan, who drowned while trying to save a friend’s life. One day, the boy’s father watches as the surviving boy, Kihyun, is bullied by his friends. He intervenes and befriends the seemingly rootless boy, and gives him a job in his store.
This directorial debut looks at how grief works. As the three protagonists paint, put up wallpaper, and cook together, everyday tasks become a matter of course once again, and the three develop a shared rhythm; they could almost be mistaken for a family. But the closer the trio becomes, the guiltier Kihyun feels. Finally he confesses the truth about Eunchan: he was not the noble saviour everyone believes him to have been. Sadness curdles into a desire for revenge. But the film retains its calm, and its hugely focused visual compositions provide space for all kinds of emotional outbursts. The provincial setting, precisely drawn, becomes a stage where questions of vengeance and atonement are played out.