Evergreen Tree (1961)

Absolute god tier must watch

Now if you're the type to complain about sound quality and technical standpoints of movies then gtfo because this is a black and white movie shot in the mountains with a dollar, a camera, and a dream, period. But apart from that, themes of women empowerment, rural emancipation, education, activism and community-building are explored, and Choi Eun Hee (a.k.a. my goddess) hard carries the movie with her pure charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. This is also my favourite love story (it might even beat "Mother And The Guest", also a Choi Eun Hee movie, well who guessed it), and I can understand if people think that the messaging is too "preachy" and direct, sometimes even seeming like propaganda. I feel like that is totally ok knowing that this movie was supposed to touch even the poorest of people to motivate them to get themselves educated and build community, and it's easier to tell someone to go fishing than telling them a story of a fisher and waiting for them to "get it".
This movie touches your heart, period. You sit there on your chair or bed watching one woman toil herself away for her children, for her village, for her dream, and in the end, you know it was due to efforts by peopple like hers that Korea is the country it is now. You watch the beautiful nature of the Korean countryside and the dreams and hopes of the youth and children, and you'll be so engrossed in it that you forget you're not there.

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