Twenty-one minutes are enough for South Korean screenwriter and film director Jang Young Seon to present and develop the conflicts of this family psychological drama that revolves around a dysfunctional family that has been trying for more than a decade to compensate for the loss of a child by adopting young people to replace it.
With an intriguing plot, well-developed characters, music consistent with the conflicts raised, and a dark color palette, the short film 'My Eleventh Brother' (형이 돌아왔다), from 2016, begins when the family of high school student An Sung Woo (Kim Myung Kyu) arrives with the newly adopted An Sung Kyu (Lim Ji Hoon), a young man who also comes from a broken world, having spent his life in foster homes.
While Sung Kyu, who recognizes himself as a "nobody", searches for the family he longs for, Sung Woo searches for his place in the world. Both young people have a secret that they have preferred to hide from others: they are homosexuals.
The first thing that catches my attention is that the title of the short film refers not to the eleventh child of the family, but to the eleventh brother of the main protagonist. This tells us that what is intended to be highlighted is more than the relationship of the adopted young person with the family, it is the relationship of the newcomer with the son of the family, that is, with his brother.
The film tells how Sung Woo rejects Sung Kyu, as he surely could have despised others before him, until he discovers, in the midst of a premature antagonism, that between the two there are more reasons that unite them than those that can separate them.
This is how they eventually end up finding refuge in each other. But not only that, Sung Kyu will also manage to bring peace to the family, especially to the mother (Jung Soo Young). The scene of the mother and adopted son sharing games and laughter, which shows a change in the woman's depressive and sad personality, also demonstrates that Sung Kuy is the ideal missing member of the home.
Premiered at the Seoul Pride Film Festival 2016, 'My Eleventh Brother' is a short film with moving scenes, clear development and growth of the characters, which addresses themes such as coming of age, the search for love and happiness, psychological traumas and family relationships.
Despite its disturbing, at times suffocating atmosphere, 'My Eleventh Brother' leaves me with that momentum that makes you want more and more of the show. It's not boring at all, and every scene is suspenseful and will keep you on edge worrying about what will happen next to keep you completely pleased.