My Name

A quiet, harrowing double portrait where buried national trauma and adolescent cruelty slowly entwine into something devastating.

Directed by

Chung Ji-young

Genres

Drama

Starring

Yeom Hye-ran, Shin Woo-bin, Choi Jun-woo

Tagline

"Mom, live by your name now."

Overview

South Korea, 1998: While the country moves closer towards democracy, Young-oak remains at odds with his female-connotated name while attending a boy's school where the air is thick with testosterone. The young man is struggling to fit in and find a new name among corrupt teachers and the teenagers' violent power games, which are as subtle as they are extreme. Behind his mother Jeong-sun's seemingly unflappable exterior, a past long repressed is reemerging, which she is reluctant to face. Yet confrontation is unavoidable – and it leads back to the national tragedy surrounding the Jeju Uprising of April 3rd, 1948.

How it feels

Bleak, melancholic, tense and earnest. Slow-burning and needs your attention.

About

Trauma, identity, memory, family

Content

Strong violence. Mild gore, sexual content and language.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)