MovieChat Forums > Kim Bok-nam salinsageonui jeonmal (2012) Discussion > What was the significance of the old man...

What was the significance of the old man?

posted 10 years ago by kElevrA7
3 replies | jump to latest

Loved the film. At first I couldn't get over how despicable the protagonist was. Then I realised that the character's moral apathy was purposeful and allowed for the scathing critique of the culture of victim blaming and turning a blind eye.

However, I wasn't 100% sure where the old man fit in. There is a throwaway line about a 'storm' which killed all the other men on the island over night with the implication that he did it but he doesn't seem to be the type (he is shown to be the only other decent person on the island). I think there are two main possibilities:

a) The elderly women are telling the truth and the man really did kill off the other husbands (possibly because they were as sinister as Man-jong). This traumatised him to become the weak and feeble old man we see in the film.

b) The elderly women disposed of the men themselves and blamed the old man (allbeit with a thinly veiled excuse of a storm).

I believe the second option is most likely as the first option doesn't really hold when you consider he was essentially beaten and passed around (raped?) by the women afterwards. Perhaps this also adds to the underlying critique of the older generation that is present throughout the film. This interpretation adds a further layer of hypocrisy on top of all their misdeeds (since the evil auntie is continuously complaining about the lack of men).

I guess this interpretation has the added value of removing any gender politics from the film since the women are thus shown to be as despicable as the men; similar to Bok-Nam, he is a victim of abuse crippled by fear and PTSD making his silence/inaction somewhat excusable.

What did everyone else think? Am I overthinking this?

The two of you killed everything I ever loved. **** you both.

[–] Dr_RoButtnik 10 years ago

Interesting... that second option makes sense, but then why would they always keep saying that they need more men? Especially since the older woman were a lot more traditional. Even though they were hardasses, they were probably still subservient to the men (which is why they were so mean to the younger women).

I didn't ascribe any significance to the story... but maybe your first idea that the old man killed all the men on the island does have some truth to it.

"Weirdness was all he cared about. Weirdness and sex and plenty to drink."

[–] StaunchWoman 9 years ago

I picture the old man, while in his prime at the time of the storm, a lot like Bok-Nam's husband. There was a storm and he used that excuse to rid the island of any competition. I don't think the rest of the men were like Man-Jong, I think the old man was.

In turn, he had his share of children and wives, and was able to live out the rest of his life just sitting and dumbly chewing on those bozo leaves.

We've met before, haven't we?

[–] zee944 9 years ago

In my understanding, the old man was a decent person. He was the last man that remained from the older, normal generation. When the storm killed all the other men, only the sick brothers left and they took over the island, turning it into a nightmare.

*SPOILERS*
Near the end, when the brothers come back to the island, they ask the old guy if everything is OK. He nods "yes" several times implying he is satisfied with the death of those awful women.
Also, he is the only person Bok-Nam doesn't want to kill, and she not just spares his life, but gives him a haircut. What else would it mean than the old guy is a good person?