Kim Tae-yong's Family Ties is an ensemble story told in three separate parts. Acting legend Moon So-ri (Oasis, A Good Lawyer's Wife) takes the lead in the first, playing a woman who is visited by her delinquent brother (Eom Tae-woong) who had vanished years earlier. He tells her he has gotten married, introduces Mu-shin (Ko Doo-shim), a woman who is considerably older than he is, and then casually moves in. Part two is tightly focused on a character played by Kong Hyo-jin (Conduct Zero, Memento Mori), a quick-tempered young woman named Sun-kyung who finds out that her mother (Kim Hye-ok) is seriously ill. Sun-kyung has been on bad terms with her mother, particularly because the latter is having an affair with a married man. Part three is about a young couple going through trouble in their relationship, and features Bong Tae-gyu (See You After School) and Jeong Yu-mi (Blossom Again).
Given the names in this cast, it may come as no surprise to hear that the acting is top-drawer. Moon So-ri, Kong Hyo-jin, and Bong Tae-gyu are each more than capable of carrying their respective segments, and the supporting roles are well-cast. Kong's performance in particular is worth watching multiple times just to revel in its energy and to catch all of its details. As a bonus, Ryoo Seung-beom makes a brief appearance playing her ex-boyfriend (a nice bit of irony, since in real life too, Ryoo is Kong's ex-boyfriend).
The original Korean title "Birth of a Family" gives some clues as to the thematic point of the film. It is family relationships that provide the work with its narrative scaffolding, yet these family units are anything but stable. Indeed, we witness the "birth" of at least two families onscreen. In this way, the families come across as quite unconventional, not to mention the fact that all these people tend to act a bit crazy.
It's particularly interesting to consider the genesis of these families. Rather than being based on blood relations, they are often born out of a random or irresponsible act by other person. Yet through his film the director makes clear that the family is no less valuable because of it. This is not a controversial concept in many parts of the world, but it attracts notice in Korea because many cultural traditions are at least nominally founded on blood ties. Korea has moved far beyond its cultural traditions in many ways, but enough remains that this film carries a somewhat progressive sheen. (Consider, for example, the popular TV drama Autumn Love Story, in which two newborn baby girls are accidentally switched in the hospital, and then fifteen years later when the families discover what happened, are switched back).
Sometimes it seems that Western film critics look down on Asian films that tackle family issues in a sober light, compared to the hip, ironic portrayals of dysfunctional families seen in many U.S. independent films such as Little Miss Sunshine. When Im Sang-soo's A Good Lawyer's Wife premiered at Venice in 2003, the reaction of many critics seemed to be that their own society had "been there, done that" - that the film had nothing new to say to them. But I wonder if this isn't just a closing of minds to issues that are still pretty vital to people in any society.
Ultimately Family Ties did draw notice from festivals, securing an invitation to the Toronto International Film Festival. Nonetheless, its reputation is much higher in Korea, and it won numerous local awards including Best Film at the 2006 Busan Film Critics Awards. Aside from a few weak points (the music, for example, or a tendency to push too hard in certain scenes) this unassuming work has to be considered one of the most interesting Korean films of 2006.