Hello everyone, welcome back to BlazinBlue's Review. Its been awhile since our last review. I hope everyone's been doing well. It's been a bit busy and such with farm life.
I was hoping that I would be able to make these reviews a little more structured. However, that's not in the plans just yet. So bear with me for the formatting as this is done by phone.
Now earlier this year, Umma was released. It was a film starring Sandra Oh, Fivel Stewart, and Dermot Mulroney and directed by Iris K. Shim. It was one that I don't exactly remembering hearing a lot about. I didn't see any of the trailers. So I honestly had no idea what to expect going in. And then I heard it was quickly released to Netflix.
The synopsis is as follows: Amanda and her daughter live a quiet life on an American farm, but when the remains of her estranged mother arrive from Korea, Amanda becomes haunted by the fear of turning into her own mother.
Reading that synopsis, I wasn't sure what to expect. I kept an open mind as it sounded like a ghost story. By this point, there have been a lot of ghost films. What could this one do that was different from all the rest?
Umma is a very eerie Korean ghost story. It has some moments that were a bit creepy. It did establish some fantastic use of what I can imagine as Korean imagery. At one point, we see a nine tail fox. That was pretty unique and different.
Sandra Oh does a pretty solid job as Amanda. This is a character that has a pretty big arc. The opening of the film gives a small glimpse into what trauma she has experienced. But beyond that short moment, it feels a bit light.
Fivel Stewart does a good job as Chris, Amanda's daughter. The dynamic between Chris and Amanda is a great one. We get to see how much they care for one another. They have a beekeeping business that is becoming successful. However, we are also given small glimpses of Chris wanting to go out into the world to find herself.
The parallels between what I can imagine young Amanda as and what Chris is going through would be similar. It's an aspect that I wish we were given more time with. The more I keep thinking about the film, the more I realize is that's hampered by its short run time. It's an extremely brisk 1 hour and 23 minutes. It moves very quickly. So much that by the time it was over, I was wishing there was more.
Dermot Mulroney plays Danny, a store owner that has been helping Amanda and Chris. He's an extremely likeable character. I kept hoping that Amanda and him would end up together in the end. Honestly, it probably would happen. What's the downside though? I don't feel like the film utilizes him enough.
Umma has good characters. It gives us a decent set up. But the run time hampers it all and makes it feel a bit shallow. There are a few jump scares. And thankfully those aren't played to the 'loud noise must accompany it' trope. I feel like if there had been more depth, the film could be more effective.
Rating: 6 out of 10. (It's okay for a watch, but probably won't revisit it.)
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