Draw your own conclusions.
As founder of The Warren Report, Warren Etheredge hosts over 250 events every year,
a podcast and television series. The Warren Report promotes "slow culture" through commentary, outreach,
events and education. Our principle: Smarter audiences make a better world!
You had the worst childhood ever. So did I. You had the best childhood ever. So did I. How is it possible for both of us to have experienced these conflicting superlatives? Simple. As kids, we have no sense of communal relativity. Thus, our experiences and emotions are always the best, worst, least, most, only ones in the world… to us. Doesn’t matter if you were beaten repeatedly, raised by wolves or adopted by Brangelina. Your youth will be chock-a-block with moments of such severe joy and unbridled disappointment that discerning the essence of those years will be impossible for decades, if then. However, with age comes perspective and with this better vantage we can gauge our childhoods versus others’; thus we develop empathy and, for some, learn to heal. TREELESS MOUNTAIN offers an incredible opportunity to reconsider abandonment issues and benefit from the indomitable spirit of its leads.
Two little girls, ages 6 and 4, are left in the care of their aunt while their mom searches for their wayward father… or, opportunity. The mother promises to return, but the children come to question this possibility with every passing day. They endure their aunt’s erratic tutelage, hopeful their obedience will earn them piggybank-plugging coins essential for their familial reunion. Instead, they must fend for themselves and are passed from one relative to another, exposed to strangers and situations that force them to mature far earlier than Piaget or Dr. Spock would likely endorse. The story may be set in South Korea, yet its message is universal, even if the landscapes and hardships surpass what most Westerners would imagine. Directed by So Yong Kim, TREELESS MOUNTAIN is indelible, a breathtakingly simple story that reframes our own recollections and evaluations of childhood.
In Seattle, TREELESS MOUNTAIN plays at The Northwest Film Forum from June 26th thru July 2nd. The feature is preceded by a screening of Wes Kim‘s charming short, COOKIES FOR SALE. For showtimes and tickets: http://www.nwfilmforum.org/live/page/calendar/929