Film review:MAL- MO-E

 Film: MAL-MO-E

THE SECRET MISSION 

     Our lost country will be found with our language...

The film about the attrocities of the japanese rule to the Koreans.Japanese didn't allow Koreans to speak in their language,children in school punished to speak in korean language.Once a man told his son (mr.Ryo)that someday they would get free ,but now after many years Mr.Ryo's father becomes pro-Japanese and principal of one of largest school of the area.Mr.Ryo, who has not forgotten his fathers words and works for Korean language.He has set-up a Korean language society where to outsiders it's just a small library but in reality they are working for a dictionary of Korean language. Mr. Ryo has to carry the words with him to a place safely but suddenly Mr.Kim robbed the bag having the collection of words.Mr.kim father of two a son and a daughter his son is given a letter from school to pay the fees or else he would be kicked out. His father had been fired from his job as a guard of theater.Now he wanted money for that sake he stole the bag to think it would have money. In a clash between Mr.Kim and Mr.Ryo ,the school letter got into hands of Mr.Ryo,he then after losing his bag went to Mr.kim's house the address he got from the letter. He went there took back his bag and left.

The next day Mr.Kim came to the book store of Mr. Ryo, Mr.Kim was invited by a old man of Korean Language Society, he offered him to work with them and requested Mr.Ryo to keep him on work as he needs a person to distribute the magazines.Mr.Ryo was very angry but then allowed Mr.kim to work with them.

Mr.kim didn't knew to write and read but slowly he learned and then loved reading books.One night when he is drunk talks to his friends about the society trying to make a korean dictionary and the other day the Japanese soldiers raid the place ,Mr.Ryo called to government general office.After this they shift all the records in the basement,these records are of Korean words being collected from 10 years as words contain the nations spirit. Mr.Ryo meets the government general who advices him to change the name of Korean Language Society. Mr.Ryo also gets a slap from his father for working for the betterment of Korean Language. Korean children are forced to change their names at school. The korean writers are encouraging the use of Japanese and have made an alliance with the Japanese The Korean Japanese Alliance. The society is worried what would happen if they couldn't publish magazine this time but this month successfully the magazine is out and distributed. Mr.Kim was given a duty to fulfill which he couldn't as he tried to help his fellow who was beaten by the Japanese,Mr.Ryo gets angry and punches him,after knowing all about the situation he goes to say sorry to Mr.Kim,as the team work is very important rather then 10 steps of a man,1 step by 10 is great.Mr.Ryo tells when he came to know that the Korean children are now unable to speak Korean they have lost their mother language so he decided to make a dictionary for this cause slowly many friends joined and they formed a society. 

The rain comes,but the roof of bookstore is leaked ,Mr.Kim arrives and covers the roof by tin so that the record could be saved.The society now tries to search for different dialects of korean for that they try to find teachers but unable to do so Mr.Kim brings many of his friends with him while speak different dialects ,they all are asked  about words in their dialects.All newspapers in Korean cease to publish except the ones of Japanese Korean Alliance. The problem arises that despite the different dialects of a language people should accept the Standard ones.Mr.Kim when speaks in Korean with his daughter his son stops him to do so as she will be going to school soon and if they found her to speak in korean she will get punished..

The society makes its last magazin4 and asks in it to send words from different languages.After which the police raids with the Japanese general,they get the the records and take it along with them the old man in the society was beaten and he died. The information about the society was given by a member whose wife was in jail they promised to release his wife but they broke the promise and even destroyed the records of the society. Mr.Ryo goes to the house of dead fellow and found out he had been writing all the words every night at his home making a copy of the dictionary as he was aware nothing is safe in the book store. He had copies 160,000 words. Mr.Ryo asks his companions to join Korean Japanese Alliance the only option left they all refuse and leave Mr.Ryo alone.Mr.Kim stays ,a mailman knocks on the door and asks them to come with him to the store house where they find mails from Korean sending words from different dialects after which Mr.Ryo asks Mr.Kim to leave as he doesn't wants to put him into trouble. Mr.Ryo chanlged the name of society, Korean actors,started acting in Japanese films,Mr Kim again got the job as a guard in the theater. While in train when Mr.Kim sings a song in Korean a Japanese man hits him not to sing in Korean,and a fight begins between the two.Mr.Kim goes back to the book store and asked Mr.Ryo to start working with him again for Korean language. Mr.Ryo invites Koreans in a secret meeting in the church,where some spies of Japanese also join them ,Mr.Ryo is aware of the spies and asks everyone to be in favour of Japanese but people start criticising him. Later,at night letters circulated to Korean that the meeting in the church was fake and to join them in the real meeting held in the theater.Mr.Ryo tells them that they have came to preserve spoken and written language of Korean.The books are our lifeline we should make the dictionary together. They start working on the Korean words and their meanings. Meanwhile,Mr.Kim's son(Kim Duk jin) is called from his class to meet the government general and asked about the magazine he had distributed in his school from the Korean language,he tell all truth about his father they ask him where his father is he tells a wrong address but the Japanese find the real location. Kim duk jin runs to his father and informs him about the arrival of Japanese.Mr.Kim runs to tell the people in theater all get panicked but the Japanese soldiers arrive the all try to keep the doors closed until Mr.Kim and Mr.Ryo take the last copies of dictionary and escape after which all others left in theater get beaten. While running Mr.Ryo gets shot and asks Mr.Kim to take the last copies of dictionary to a printing store.Mr.Kim reaches the store but it's night and store closed he manages to open the window and throws the copies if dictionary inside the store and runs away but the Japanese soldiers reach him and shot him soon he dies. Mr.Ryo is alive but jailed it's 15,August 1955 when Korea gets independence, Mr.Ryo and all other Korean prisoners get freed. Mr.Ryo again changes the name of his store back to previous name, the information arrives that the last copies of dictionary is found Mr.Ryo goes and gets that printed the great Korean dictionary gets printed. Mr.Kims daughter is grown up and feels proud of her father who sacrificed his life for the noble cause.