Performance

Task in EAPP
"Miracle in Cell No.7"
A Movie Reaction Paper
 The South Korean drama film “Miracle Cell No.7” was released in 2013, its director being Lee
Hwan-kyung, and its writers being Kim Young-seok and Lee Hwan-kyung. The cast of the movie, in
relative to the character they portrayed, includes; Ryu Seung-ryong as Lee Yong-gu, Kal So-won as Ye-
sung, Park Shin-hye as Ye-seung (adult), Oh Dal-su as So Yang-ho, Kim Jung-tae as Choi Chul-woong,
and Jung Jin-young as Kim Yun-seok. This movie was said to be a success, as this received praise
from critics and audience alike, and add the fact that this movie also was one of the highest-grossing
films of 2013. Adding to the evidence of the movie’s success is that it grossed over 100 million USD at
the box office and won several awards, one including Best Film at the 34th Blue Dragon Film Award.
Overall, "Miracle in Cell No. 7" was a major success for the South Korean film industry and remains a
beloved and memorable film for many fans. Personally for me, this was a success due to its show of
the manifestation of humanity in the most unlikeliest places, showing that despite our differences we
always will go back to our nature to be humane. With that said, we’ll see if this movie truly holds up
to its name and what its role is in terms of showing society’s issues.

Miracle Cell No.7 is a heartwarming and emotional story about a father with a mental disability
named Yong-Gu who is wrongly accused of murder and rape which lead to his unjustified
imprisonment. His daughter, Ye-Sung, was then left to live with their relatives but still found a way to
join his father in his prison cell where they formed unlikely relationships with the inmates in the
cell. Through Yong-Gu’s optimism and childlike innocence, they undergo a quest to get his well-
deserved justice. Despite the separation, Yong-Gu and Ye-Sung’s bond as father and daughter
remains rock solid which inspires hope to whoever hears their story.

While watching this film, I didn’t know what to expect. Though, I felt such an attachment to the
father and daughter as their bond was pure like no other, even when the father is mentally
challenged he still strives to do what’s best for his daughter. Their innocence combined made me
smile. So as the movie progresses into the most unlikely events, all I could feel was the anger and
disappointment of how the justice system worked. And most of all, I could feel agitation as well
towards myself as I can’t change the outcome of the story. Despite the heavy topic this movie tackles,
this has comedic elements to it as it is well-mixed with the movie as so it won’t be as much of a
downer. Overall, this movie stands out to me for the sole reason being that despite having the most
unlikeliest mix of characters, they all seem to make light within each other of a dark situation.

As for the cinematography of the film, it perfectly executes what it wants to portray to the viewers;
the full raw emotion of each character and their struggles. This can be seen in how, at times, close-
ups to the character’s facial features can be seen. This is so that we can clearly see what they feel, in
what they also do due to their perceived emotion; paving way for the audience to connect more
deeply with the aforementioned characters. Not only that, it compares how vastly different at times
the entire mood of a situation is, with the warmer tones used in when the father was supposedly to
buy a surprise gift for his daughter to the cold tones of the prison cell at first glance to show how
cold the inmates are with the father—who don’t know his received injustice. The cinematography
truly helped in capturing the audience’s heart, despite it being subtle.

Thematic-wise, it truly portrays how despite each person having vastly different backgrounds, but
will all come together for a main cause. The main cause in the film being for righting the misplaced
injustice on Yong-Gu and going out of their way to make the father be with his daughter, Ye-Seung,
no matter what. Though the inmates and Yong-Gu didn’t fare well in their first interaction, an
unimaginable connection was formed, more so when the daughter then arrived in their cell. With
this claim, I will back it up with three concepts that continue to be relevant to this day.
 The first concept being social devaluation. Yong-Gu is already seen to be untrustworthy, a
manipulator to get off of a severe case, yet no authority or the mass of the public seems to realize his
disability. How he was already put under the bus due to him being an easy target to a false
accusation, with no officer wanting to undergo a proper investigation to see the full case at hand. Not
to mention, the inmates are already seen to be trash by the officers as the general public also sees
them as the scum of the earth. With this, relatability with one another makes people connect deeply;
sharing the same judgment of what society says despite never knowing what their side is.

The second concept, role expectation, also backs this up. With a heavy word placed upon you, such
as murderer and rapist, people will scamper away from you or do you worse than the perceived
portrayal that society has placed upon you. This can also be seen as the inmates beat the father up,
but by knowing his side, they’ve come to a realization how truly unfair his situation is. Yong-Gu is the
exact opposite of what his misplaced title placed upon him, his role performance being an innocent
light that shines through what used to be a bleak and bitter cell. With that, the inmates come together
with this newfound motivation to give what Yong-Gu truly deserves.

Lastly, the third and final concept would be self-concept. Yong-Gu only truly wants to be a good
father to his daughter, Ye-Seung, overwhelming her with his overflowing love and devotion for her.
He truly also believes that despite any situation, with his daughter by his side, he can be unstoppable
over any problem. This can be seen despite being imprisoned, he has kept his cheery disposition all
throughout the film when he was reunited with his daughter, being a persistent optimist and fully
knowing that he’s doing the best he can to provide for his daughter with the pure intent to just keep
her safe and well. The inmates saw this of course and were fueled by his behavior, taking it as
inspiration that despite themselves being hardened over prison life, that in their hearts they still
want to do what’s right.

With that being said, for me the film truly shows that whatever adversities we face, it is in human
nature to bond and to use this as a force to persevere through it. Though yes, people will immediately
notice its flawed law system, I don’t particularly see people praising its movie for the values shown
and what lessons we can truly apply to ourselves with the movie that it has presented us with. This
movie makes me appreciate humanity more, even if it’s only by a little; this reminds me of despite
there being the worst of the worst in our society, there will always be the exact opposite which sparks
hope within us all. With that, I truly recommend this film for the people who have never watched the
movie before, your time is surely not wasted in this masterpiece.