Coin Locker Girl

Coin Locker Girl is a South Korean film initially released in 2015, directed by Han Jun-hee. The film stars the brilliant actress Kim Hye-su, showcasing her versatility and prowess. Kim Go-eun, notable for her performance in the hit Korean drama, "Goblin," also stars. Rising star Park Bo-gum completes the potent trio, providing a more emotional and softer contrast to the otherwise hard and grimy world of the story.

The film takes its name from the cold, unforgiving circumstances surrounding the birth of the central character, Il-yeong (Kim Go-eun), who is abandoned by her mother in a Seoul subway station locker. The newborn's disturbingly tragic beginning is only a precursor to the life she's poised to live. Found by a beggar and eventually sold to a woman known only as Mother, portrayed forcefully by Kim Hye-su, she is thrown into the unforgiving world of loan-sharking and organized crime.

Resting on the fringes of society, unwanted and unloved, a young Il-yeong is groomed under Mother's cold scrutiny ever since she was taken in. Mother, sinewy and confident, presides over a sordid empire built on illegal loans, and does it unflinchingly. She runs her operation in Incheon's Chinatown and rules her criminal underworld with an iron fist, showing no remorse or emotion. For her, people are merely commodities, and money has more value than life itself.

Mother is the closest thing Il-yeong knows to a parent, despite her icy demeanor, hence making her world as dark and grim as it can be. Gravitating between grotesque tasks and encounters demanded by Mother's operation, Il-yeong's youth is swallowed whole by this bleak environment.

As Il-yeong matures, she is indoctrinated to become Mother's most reliable hit-woman and debt collector, with her hands more blood-stained than any sane youngster's need to be. Her life is dominated by dread, devoid of warmth and softness until she meets Seok-hyeon, played by Park Bo-gum. Unlike everyone else around Il-yeong, Seok-hyeon is gentle, kind-hearted, and devoid of any association with her world of crime. His presence in her life dramatically sets off a sequence of events that has the potential of shaking Il-yeong's existence at its core.

The film masterfully weaves together an intense narrative, shrouded in moments of profound sadness, while drawing attention to the juxtaposition of the mother-daughter relationship. Acting as a vicious matriarch, Kim Hye-su has infused her character with chilling nuance that commands the screen. She contrasts brilliantly with Kim Go-eun's Il-yeong, struggling to reconcile the violent mother figure with her growing yearning for normalcy and love—introduced through Park Bo-gum's soft-spoken and kind-hearted Seok-hyeon.

The narrative unfolds masterfully, delving into the underworld of Seoul's crime scene, but at the same time is very human and relatable in its exploration of emotions and relationships. It's a film dominated by robust female characters, primarily the relationship between a street-hardened, ruthless crime boss, and an essentially kidnapped child turned unwilling hitwoman. The inclusion of an innocent new character further strains their complex relationship. At its heart, Coin Locker Girl is a tale about family, but of an unusual kind.

Flawless performances by the cast, particularly the lead actors Kim Hye-su and Kim Go-eun, help the audience sympathize with the characters despite their vile actions. The director has woven healing and horrified elements together quite effectively, painting a striking picture of loyalty, love, and the lengths we might go to protect those we care for, even if it's expressed in unconventional, sometimes savage, ways.

Dealing with abandonment, loneliness, survival, and the desire for a sense of belonging, the film takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride, expertly exploring the darkness that humanity is often forced to confront. It's compelling, chilling, and introspective, and it begs the question - how far would you go to find, and keep, your sense of family?

Coin Locker Girl is a deeply haunting, gritty, and emotionally charged ride, unflinchingly showcasing the terrifying depths that an individual might fall into when trapped in the underbelly of society. Straddling the lines between toxicity and tenderness, crime and care, the film crafts an intricate and ethically blurred emotional labyrinth, with Mother and Il-yeong standing firmly at the center of this thematic maze.