Korea.net's list of must-see films: The Ball Shot by a Midget

The Ball Shot by a Midget (1981)
Directed by Lee Won-se

Kim Bul-yi is a dwarf. He was making a living by playing the trumpet in local theaters and in the circus. With modernization, however, the theaters and circus stages were torn down. Kim lost his job and ended up working at a cabaret. His eldest son, Yeong-su, played byAhn Seong-gi, works at a factory melting rusted metal. Yeong-su has a girl friend, Myeong-hee, played by Jeon Yeong-sun. Due to the tough times, she works at a pub, but Yeong-su can't afford to help her. His daughter, Yeong-hee, played by Keum Bo-ra, works at a bakery. Kim's wife, played byJeon Yang-ja, works at a salt farm. She always says that they are poor, but that they can be happy, satisfactory with a house where their family gets together. They love and support each other.

One day, the salt farm and the industry decline and the farms are replaced with high-rises and factories. People in the neighborhood are faced with two options: either purchase an option to buy one of the apartments or hand the option over to a broker and leave the area. Kim's family has no choice but to give up their options. Yeong-hee, however, cannot give up, and goes out to meet the real estate agent. Waiting for Yeong-hee to return, the family watches as their home begins to be torn down, a home that they built and preserved for generations.

Yeong-hee comes back with an option that she stole from the house of the agent. However, as she enters the partially torn down home, she encounters the dead body of her father.

Comment by film critic Shin Eun-sil

"We are not machines", yelled the man before he burned himself to death. It happened on November 13, 1970, when society was obsessed with industrial development. The then government helped companies grow with protective policies and ignored the workers' efforts and sacrifices. Labor campaigns were stopped, as society went through the Korean War (1950-1953) and lived in a dictatorship. There was almost no one who was able to catch up with the speed of the nation's industrialization and urbanization. Jeon Tae-il (1948-1970) wouldn't have burned himself if he had had a friend with a university degree.

Almost every work of art and literature involves a farm. There were no creatures related to labor issues. During the 1970s, when the population of Seoul increased by a million in two years, demolition of old buildings and redevelopment was just an everyday task in the city. The hopeless and displaced people lived life under a tent. Land speculation continued endlessly. Impatient people finally brought about a revolution in August 1971.

This movie is based on the novel published with the same title in 1978. Jo Se-hee was an author who captured the change that many segments of society underwent, from the petite bourgeoisie to labor groups. A year after its publication, the country welcomed the "Seoul Spring", a period of partial democratization in 1979-1980.

The novel was made into a movie by director Lee Won-se and was released on October 17, 1981. The work was ruined by the screenplay review and censorship.

Jo's screenplay starts as follows: A chimney that stands high, high enough to touch the sky, gives off dark black smoke. The lights that used to lighten the streets begin to fade. Male and female workers come and go in the misty street, starting and ending their shifts.

The story goes on: Yeong-su reads a book as he works at a factory where modern machines run 24 hours per day. In the novel, the eldest son of Kim bul-yi kills the brother of the head of the Eungang Group, as he mistakes him for his brother. Yeong-su then receives the death penalty.

However, the post-censorship revised script begins where Yeong-su is out of jail. His girl friend asks, "When did you get out", and he replies, "Today". There is no scene at all that shows the pain as society industrialized.

Nonetheless, director Lee had a skillful technique to use the margins of the screen to look delicate. A beautiful humanness and the love of family was successfully pictured in the film. ActorAhn Seong-giexpressed through his eyes the inner thoughts of his character Yeong-su. A year before he appeared in "The Ball Shot by a Midget", An starred in "Good Windy Day" (1980), playing a very poor person. A year after that, he starred as a laborer at a conglomerate in "The Iron Men" (1982). During the 1980s, the early '80s in particular, An was an icon for Korean men.

* This series of articles has been made possible through the cooperation of the Korean Film Archive.

*Clickhereto see previous parts in the series about Korea.net's must-see films.