In Umma, Sandra Oh faces her worst nightmare—becoming her mother
Iris K. Shim's debut unfolds like a horror version of Minari, except it doesn't reconcile the dichotomy between Asian and Asian-American with as much grace
Film Reviews Umma
In Umma (Korean for mother), Amanda (Sandra Oh) and her daughter Chrissy (Fivel Stewart) live off the grid on a farm where they raise bees rather than vegetables, and it’s easy to imagine that writer-director Iris K. Shim intends for her feature debut to play out like a horror version of Minari. In Lee Isaac Chung’s 2020 Oscar-nominated semi-autobiographical film, the initially awkward arrival of Grandma from South Korea culminates in and underscores the children’s embrace of the cultural identity she symbolizes. The homestead in Umma embodies Americana, and when Chrissy’s Grandma (MeeWha Alana Lee) visits, she too represents the old world—but with decidedly more vengeful motivations.
A prologue depicts her abusing the young Amanda, then known as Soo Hyun (Hana Kim), with shocks from an exposed electrical cord after she tries to run away, which traumatizes Amanda so much that she swears off electricity for life. She forbids anyone to come near her home with a running car or even a cell phone, finds lightning triggering, and suffers from recurring nightmares.
One day Amanda’s estranged uncle (Tom Yi) shows up unannounced at her farm with her mother’s ashes and personal effects in a suitcase. He chides her for being unwed and for abandoning her mother and her Korean name, warning Amanda that her mother’s anger will fester as long as her ashes remain in the suitcase. But when home-schooled Chrissy obtains an application for a university that will take her out from under her mother’s protective control, Amanda succumbs to her worst fears of turning into her own mother, which the presence of Grandma’s ashes appears to propel.
While unwittingly acquiring our parents’ worst traits is a relatable, even universal concern, Amanda’s resistance to follow in her mother’s footsteps entails wholesale rejection of her heritage. It’s unclear if Shim’s use of Yellow Peril tropes for horror is purposeful, casting a sinister air over benign cultural signifiers that should be familiar to Korean viewers. But the black and white title sequence offers an “Orientalism” supercut that includes images of women in traditional Korean dress and books with hanja printed on the cover. Literally everything Korean in the film seems to signify danger: the foreboding arrival of the Korean-speaking uncle; Chrissy’s discovery of a hanbok in the attic; a scary looking traditional wooden mask called a tal that looks like a ghostly visage underneath a silk wrap.
At 84 minutes, Umma proceeds at a brisk pace. The film’s scares are mostly atmospheric, with stately camera movements slowly creeping through scenes. Flashes of apparitions, sometimes out of focus, lurk in the background or in the corner of the eye, lingering for just a split second. Blood, guts, and visual effects are minimal, but the film utilizes sound effects effectively to do the heavy lifting in set pieces. Meanwhile, the influence of Korean horror feels palpable—and the film will certainly satisfy the subgenre’s fans—but many of Shim’s choices end up offering a decidedly uncomplimentary depiction of the nexus of Asian and Asian-American culture.
Some of the same Yellow Peril tropes that appear in the film are directly responsible for the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, which jumped 339 percent in 2021 alone per data compiled by California State University San Bernardino’s Center For The Study Of Hate And Extremism. Consequently, they must be deployed purposefully, especially in a Hollywood studio movie—and here, they don’t seem to be. Particularly at a moment when Asian and Asian American characters are seeking more inclusivity and diversion, this film seems to vilify many of their cultural hallmarks or traditions. Further to that end, a genre movie like this may or may not be the right platform to examine Asian Americans’ dread or self-loathing about their ancestry, but Umma’s depiction of that conflict does not contribute any substantial ideas to that conversation.
Meanwhile, Sandra Oh makes her second turn in almost as many weeks as an “overbearing Asian mom at risk of becoming her own mother,” albeit this time more frighteningly than in Turning Red. Ironically, she transforms into a figurative monster here instead of a literal one there, but it’s nevertheless exciting to witness her tackle the flip side of the same coin and be excellent playing both. Not unlike the Pixar film, this one arrives at a coda that broadly argues that Asian-Americans can better thrive when they reconcile the duality of their identities, and someday Umma and Turning Red might make for an excellent double feature. But until we’re a bit further removed from the current wave of anti-Asian hate crimes, Shim’s film underplays the potential nuance that might come from a proper exploration of that idea, instead reinforcing the idea that nonwhite language, imagery, and faces are to be feared—worst of all, to the people bearing them.
31 Comments
Like the Turning Red review by the same author, this is 4% movie review and 96% cultural criticism – which makes the letter grade a bit gauche, no?I guess we’ll make do with the single paragraph covering the filmmaking, and the single sentence discussing the quality of the performances.Further to that end, an AV Club review like this may or may not be the right platform to examine sociopolitics, but Tsai’s exploration of the topic does not contribute any substantial ideas to the question of should I watch this movie?Some of the same Yellow Peril tropes that appear in the film are directly responsible for the rise in anti-Asian hate crimesWe’ll have to take your word for it, since you don’t really describe what these tropes are.Not unlike the Pixar film, this one arrives at a coda that broadly argues that Asian-Americans can better thrive when they reconcile the duality of their identitiesYou know people ostensibly read this to decide whether to watch the movie, right? Why are you talking about the resolution of the central problem of the film?! Maybe they should be assigning you the “Why ____ is the ____ movie we [do/don’t] need right now” pieces.
And another thing:> Particularly at a moment when Asian and Asian American characters are seeking more inclusivity and diversion, this film seems to vilify many of their cultural hallmarks or traditions.Asian and Asian American people (not “characters”) are not a monolith, and it is very clear to this reader that you yourself seek more inclusivity and diversity (not “diversion”) in the media you watch. It’s a crying shame too that your definitions of inclusion and diversity seem to exclude all but an exclusive, very much non-diverse set of opinions on what artistic practices are worthy of consideration.
And that you’re content to come across as speaking for all Asian (American)s in taking this stance is, well, off-putting.
Have a little more intellectual integrity. Own your opinions – instead of ascribing them to the zeitgeist – and give artists their due by actually reviewing the craft of their filmmaking, even (and especially) when you disagree with their storytelling.
“Fivel Stewart stars in A Korean-American Tale”
Well I am glad for Sandra Oh to be getting interesting roles and to not be on f***ing Grey’s Anatomy anymore, anywayHow is that show still around, talk about things that are cursed/ haunted
you had me at “83 minutes” LOL. I love more and more movies that get in, make an impact, and get out quickly. Give me more of those and less Irishman, please.
Oh C’mon, the Irishman was on streaming, you could have easily sat and watched it in segments. What film fan is looking for a short impact? Are you a toddler? Good movies you don’t notice the length, bad films are never short enough. Licorice Pizza? Sad the ride ended, could’ve sat for more.
if I’m going to watch a movie, I’m going to watch it in one sitting; I even hate the “intermission” that Coppola crowbarred into the middle of Godfather 2 LOL. But sometimes directors go a little crazy testing the limits of people’s patience and bladders sharing their “vision” with us and that’s just self-indulgent crap. The Irishman was pretty good but that whole thing smacked of Netflix giving Scorsese total control just to say they’re showing a “Scorsese film” and they got the slowest burn movie of all time.
Your parameters are short as possible, under an hour and a half, and as edited as possible so I can sit and watch it for a quick in/out comfortably because of…bladder issues or related? No good director working is doing it because of a power trip with the audience. There are films out needing more editing, but not any good ones. I respect the vision and try to judge it not on length, but content. I recall the great line in Amadeus: Emperor Joseph II: My dear young man, don’t take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It’s quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?
“someday Umma and Turning Red might make for an excellent double feature”like when AV Club decides its not a “yellow peril” flick and recasts it as a brave, genre-bending treatise of Asian-American duality and representation, and then it will be an “amazing” story of cultural identity.
The nice thing about the recent boom in films about fraught relationships between Asian moms and their daughters is that it’s kind of fine that not all of them hit the mark. Turning Red, this, Everything Everywhere All the Time, Hi Mom, at least one other one, because I remember watching Turning Red and thinking it was weird that it echoed something else I’d seen recently so exactly.
I’d heard of De Palma’s “Hi Mom”, but not what you’re talking about. Apparently it’s not in English, which is why I hadn’t heard of it.
Well, the fact that it’s not in English isn’t necessarily a reason not to have heard of it. It was 2021’s highest grossing film for most of the year, it got plenty of coverage in Western media if you follow movie news. As far as I can tell it still hasn’t been released in America though, that’s more of a reason.
Yes, I follow movie news via websites covering films released in America. Although even they often don’t have any details on certain foreign-language films which have reached top 10 box office status here.
tropes that appear in the film are directly responsible for the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes
I doubt that claim of direct responsibility.
I was a bit baffled by this statement. This review was…interesting
People who write about film for a living—particularly the Very Online ones, like the entire AVC staff—generally think movies and TV shows have a way bigger impact on people’s lives than they actually do.
Quality reviews by AVC staff are long gone.
do you know how many white people saw Get Out and proceeded to seduce black people only so their family could implant white people brains in their minds for profit? we may never know!
there seems to be this idea in contemporary analysis that tropes are responsible for violence in the real world and I’ve never understood the connection. seems like an argument Ben shipiro would make if he were progressive
Eh, it may be a bit of a chicken-egg thing, but tropes can absolutely play a roll in culturally sanctioning racist violence. Just look at the role the “Mandingo” stereotype played in the deaths of Emmet Till and countless other victims of lynching. Or the role that cultural representations/popular perceptions of Jews played in precipitating the Holocaust.It’s not the most elegantly worded sentence, but it seemed pretty clear to me that the author was talking about the real world consequences (including actual violence against actual people) of pop cultural representations/stereotypes, not suggesting that specific tropes were the only relevant factor in these outcomes.
tropes that appear in the film are directly responsible for the rise in anti-Asian hate crimesis what they said. they are stating a direct line between the two things.
and yeah im going to put the blame on Emmet Till’s death on Jim crow laws more than Mandingo, i really dont see the connection you are trying to draw between those two things seeing as the book Mandingo came out two year after Emmet till was killed
LOL, congrats on discovering Wikipedia. Maybe learn to check out more than one link before you make dumbass comments based on the assumption that the first Google result tells you everything you need to know. I am in no way attributing Emmet Till’s book to the 1950s novel you’re talking about. It was named after a stereotype that’s been in full swing since the antebellum days: the well-endowed, hypersexual, animalistic Black man who represents an inherent threat to white men’s masculinity and white women’s sexual purity. (Check out https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/popular-and-pervasive-stereotypes-african-americans for the short version.) If you can finish the rhyme, “Once you go Black…,” you are familiar with at least one of the modern manifestations of this stereotype.I suggest brushing up on best practices for Internet research with your high school English teacher, who can also help you with the meaning of the word “trope.” Hint: a specific novel/movie cannot be a “trope” in and of itself.
It’s not like the people who are discriminating against/assaulting Asians are going to watch this movie. If this is the artistic vision of an Asian writer/director/cast, who am I to say no?
coupled with the turning red review it sure does feel like “these tropes that i recognize and embrace from my own life (in a major studio kids movie) are good representation, and these tropes that i don’t recognize from a different culture (in a first-time director’s horror movie) are bad representation”, which, uhhhhhh. sucks!
i mean, i haven’t seen this movie and maybe the reviewer’s right and it’s badly, even offensively done! but this review doesn’t lay out any evidence of what the Yellow Peril tropes are beyond “images of women in traditional Korean dress and books with hanja printed on the cover” which, guess what, are things that do in fact really exist and that you will see if you have Korean immigrant family!“Further to that end, a genre movie like this may or may not be the right platform to examine Asian Americans’ dread or self-loathing about their ancestry,”yeah, there’s no history of minorities using genre film, especially horror, to examine their experiences and reclaim stereotypes. it definitely has not happened multiple times in the past few years to wide acclaim and cultural discussion.
also is the avclub just hiring one asian guy and assigning him to review all of the “asian movies”, cause that seems pretty iffy. fix your own house.
“also is the avclub just hiring one asian guy and assigning him to review all of the ‘asian movies’”Yup. Because that’s what “progressivism” is these days.
I fear for the review of Everything Everywhere All At Once next week.
The reviewer loved it.
“In Umma (Korean for mother)”Umma
is closer to “Mom” or “Mommy”, a name that’d be used by a younger child
or someone with a close relationship to their mom; it’s a shortening of
“ohmoni”, which would be more like “mother”. I know this is a really
minor quibble, but given that it seems like this is a movie that’s high
on cultural context, I wonder if there’s other things that didn’t quite
translate for someone who is less familiar with Korean language and
culture.
And ‘ohmoni’ itself being a shortening of ‘ohmonim’ (a more formal ‘Mother’).
Gen Y horror. LOL!
This reviewer keeps referring to “Asia” as though it represents a single culture. Please trust your audience a little more. This is the AVClub. We know that the continent of Asia comprises many diverse cultures. There are diverse cultures even within individual countries in Asia.