6:36pm, sitting on the sofa contemplating if I should attend the 7pm film night or not. I have always had a fascination with North Korea, and even though this movie has promised torture and possibly death, I finally decided not to miss out on the opportunity and buckle up for a probably emotionally filled movie. The movie “The Net” is directed by Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk who is well-known for his artistic style film, instead of catering to mainstream media.
Dawn, the rise of the sun, new beginnings, the joy of family, the tender caresses of a wife, this is how a fisherman by the name of Nam Chul-woo begins his day. He will retrieve his net near the border between the North and South. As the boat goes into the distance, the border control asks what will he do if he crosses into the South, the fisherman states that he would stay with his boat(it took him 10 years of saving to earn that boat).
As if the soldier was speaking the fate of Nam, his net gets stuck in the engine of the boat, rather than swimming back to the North, he stays with his boat as the boat is his livelihood and how he will provide for his family. The boat raises several symbols, the path to freedom, endangerment and for the net, entrapment of life.
He is captured by the South Korean military, and now he will be interrogated for being a spy, he is assigned an advocate. For me, his advocate is like a guardian angel and throughout the movie you will see how Guyhwa Choi protects Nam and would like to protect Nam from his demise.
We see Nam struggles as he is physically and mentally tortured to admit that he is a spy or defect to the South. He has to write his confession numerous times, as he was a former soldier and has the strength of 5 men, he tries to survive for the sake of his family. He endures and each time Guyhwa Choi is there to rescue him, as he believes Nam Chul-woo is not a spy and simply crossed into South Korea because his engine failed.
When Nam realises that he will not be returned to North Korea, and be with his family, he feel like he is trapped in the net of life and he tries to commit suicide, however, Guyhwa Choi is there to stop him and tells him not to give up. Guyhwa is able to relate to Nam Chul-woo's situation as his grandfather was North Korean, and his grandfather yearns for home in the North.
Nam’s attempted suicide leads to publicity and he his eventually given the permission to head home to the North. Guyhwa Choi sells some of the items donated to Nam and gives him dollars and a teddy bear for his daughter. Nam Chul-woo must hide the money well as he knows he will be interrogated by the North.
Nam Chul-woo would stay in the South if he had the chance, but his family depends on him, and his family might be in danger if he doesn't return. Before leaving he sleeps in all the expensive items just to imagine for a moment what it would be like to have the riches of the world.
Thankfully his family is safe, but again he is tortured and eventually they find the money that he has swallowed. For me, I feel it is Guyhwa Choi saving him again because without this money the corrupt officials would not have set him free.
Tormented by his demise he sets home where he is greeted by his family, he realises that life is no longer what it was and he probably will never be able to provide for his family. His wife tries to embrace him and caress him, but it is like he is alive but dead inside. In his final act of rebellion, he takes his boat to the water the next day, knowing that he will be shot, and finally the suffering ends.
There is something about the movie for me which is a great storyline on one end but at the same time, it lacks execution. For me, the torture this man suffered did not warrant him giving up his life. Also, I found the timing in the movie to off in that it seems like the Nam Chul-woo was only tortured over days, not weeks. Though his circumstances were dire, his main goal was to see his family and in the end, he got that, however by the following day he allowed the soldiers to shoot and kill him.
The net underlines the fact that we live in an unfair world, with unfair circumstances, and there is no room for the weak, some have to endure in order to survive.
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