This review may contain spoilers
A little gemstone of its own kind
"My Mother, the Mermaid" is a KMovie gemstone. Old school it may be, however offering a sweet and empathic, yet down to earth (love) story without any polish, instead with a little bit of magic mixed in. Overall, the KDrama is ruthlessly rooted in the normality of a fairly simple (and also very South Korean) life.The most important about "My Mother, the Mermaid": A fantastic Jeon Do-yeon in her double role, a Go Doo-shim in top form, authentically rustic Haenyeo and Jejudo flair of the 1980s and the 'wonder´-ful story about a daughter, Na-young, getting to know more about her rather brash mother and her great love - Na-young's emotionally rather absent and ultimately disappeared father.
Sometimes there are worlds dividing (happy moments in the) past and (perhaps quite sad, desolate) present. But even if the present may now look completely different and happiness may seem to have long been lost, the happy, beautiful moments of the past somehow live on, well protected and guarded within the heart.
And sometimes we may evaluate a situation, a person or a relationship completely incorrectly or at least completely inadequately. Simply because we don't know everything yet...
The KMovie turns out to be an almost tender encouragement to approach life a little more humbly and calmly: Less judging and evaluating - because it kills the moment between here and now. Being open more often - because in doing so we give life a new chance with every moment.
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SIDE NOTE: --- On time, context and background ---
The KMovie from 2004 begins with a sequence that is set in the past during Asian crisis (late 1990s) - the son is inheriting his deceased father's debts... in that case however, his money mainly comes from his wife...
At first we can't understand why the mother insists so much that her large share of money she brought into the marriage was earned by herself and belonged to her, not him - and why it is so important to her that it was intended for her daughter's studies...
…The protagonist's mother was Haneyeo on Jejudo Island. These women of the sea – 'mermaids' – may not have had any formal school education in the past, but they always earned well because they dive for the sought-after, expensive seafood on the deep seabed and harvest it laboriously by hand with their spatulas. (Until today apparently only women can do this freediving job well.) The Haenyeo are people of respect on Jejudo, not least because of their financial independence. They are perhaps the only truly self-confident women in South Korea who are traditionally respected to this day and also have a naturally developed self-esteem as women (not just as potential wives!)...
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