“Return to Seoul,” March 23, 2024 (2022), DVD. Frederique “Freddie” Benoit, is French of Korean ancestry. Played by Park Ji-min, a Korean-born artist raised in France, she’s a soul in search of herself. Unlike Park, who was raised by her birth-parents in France, 23-year old Freddie was adopted as an infant. Loved, she is nonetheless distant from her ‘identity,’ not simply a Korean-self, but who she is. In this, director David Chou worked with Park and his friend, Laure Badufle who was herself adopted from Korea, to craft this intense drama.
Her flight to Korea is, it appears, a spur of the moment decision, as is so much of her life from then on. Her three stays in Korea over seven years revolve around both the search for herself, her birth-parents, and meaning. As one friend observes, she is a very sad person. She is also not the easiest person to be with as it is very much about her. People who want to love her are sometimes put off because of who she is, while others are cast off for not suiting her needs.
Critically acclaimed, the film is quite gripping and sometimes felt very opaque. I eventually decided that simply understanding the basic plot provided the best way to get at what the film is ‘saying.’ Keep your ears open for the excellent soundtrack that informs so much of the plot and character.