Family Ties (Dir. Kim Tae-yong, 2006)
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Omnibuses are a tough proposition at the best of times but it’s a format that Korean filmmakers have been very partial to over the years. There’s the If You Were Me, Jeonju Digital Project and Horror Stories series, to name but a few, but even the best tend to be a mixed bag. More successful are Korea’s experiments with overlapping episodic vignettes, which, by dint of benefiting from a single director’s guiding hand, tend to be more cohesive. Far and way the best among them is Family Ties (2006), the strongest work from one of Korea’s most talented yet underutilized filmmakers.
With a keen sensitivity and a grounded approach to modern Korean social dynamics, Kim Tae-yong weaves a gripping drama that alludes to far more than the dysfunctional family tree it appears to explore. Relatable, funny and often moving, Family Ties features the hallmarks of melodrama, yet is the antithesis to the manufactured dramas typically trotted out by the industry.
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