Treeless Mountain

Brooklyn-based So Yong Kim draws on her own memories growing up in Korea for her second feature film Treeless Mountain. Young sisters Jin and Bin are left with their stern Aunt after their Mother goes in search of their estranged Father. With little to fill their days the two children occupy their time by collecting coins to fill their large pink piggy bank and roasting grasshoppers to sell to their neighbours. Kim’s camera rarely strays above waist height as we see everything through the eyes of the two young protagonists. This is a graceful snapshot of childhood that renders to screen the subtle nuances and unsaid emotions that are so often left out of many depictions of being a child. Treeless Mountain would be particularly appreciated by fans of other contemporary realist works (such as films by the Dardenne Brothers and Kelly Reichardt).