Review: Clean Up at Sydney Film Festival
‘Do you know how hard it is to live with a sin?’ Jung-Je utters, a phrase although spoken in the film’s final moments is foreshadowed throughout Kwon Man-Ki’s Clean Up, a film which sees a kidnapper face to face with her victim twelve years later. Themes of guilt, grief, forgiveness, and redemption sweep through until the mess of one’s past actions becomes too much to deal with.
For years Jung-Je’s (Yoon Ji-hye) guilt has been a source of burden causing her to turn to religion as a way of atoning for her past actions. Her role as a cleaner is portrayed throughout the film as emotionally distant, dealing with the death of her son and the guilt of her past actions. In comparison, ex-criminal Min-gu (Dae-gun Kim) is unsettled young man, trying to make a new start for himself after serving time.
The use of religion as a source of redemption and the portrayal of the film from the perspective of the Jung-Je, the kidnapper, helps shape the narrative and the audience’s willingness to forgive, complicating the character’s back stories. Blurred lines muddy the definition of who is guilty or innocent as both parties carry their past scars with them and try to live and return to a sense of normality.
Slow, sustained and with minimal dialogue, Clean Up carries through a slow unforgettable uncertainty from the first scene. The assumption that Jung-Je’s quiet character is without guilt and Min-gu the one at fault is perhaps Kwon’s strength in writing a script that casts characters whose histories differ from their current behaviour and social perceptions. Jung-Je is a woman who is dealing with grief after having lost her son, attends church and prays daily whilst Min-gu is a ex-criminal without a home, a job, or much trust or support from those around him.
Throughout the film, the question as to whether or not the both have moved on lingers, with the confrontation held back until the last scene. A dark shadowy blue colour palate is coupled with a sorrowful, reminiscent soundtrack that plays throughout the film, portraying both characters as haunted by their past actions, both craving new identities and freedom from their past.
Kwon cleverly presents scenes of the washing away of blood as a visual representation of Jung-Je’s attempt to wash away her sins, her guilt, in order for her to obtain peace of mind. After witnessing a multitude of scenes of cleaning what seem to be crime scenes, the methodical nature of cleaning is almost desensitising to audiences who accept bloodied scenes as the norm. The physical scars can be washed away, cleansed, and taken away but the psychological scars linger and are always harder to deal with.
…
Clean Up plays tonight at Sydney Film Festival. Details here: https://www.sff.org.au/program/browse/clean-up
Review by Addy Fong.
