용서와 인간실존의 문제에 대한 두 태도 - 단편소설 「벌레이야기」와 영화 <밀양>

Abstract

A Korean film, Milyang (or Secret Sunshine), won a Best Actress Award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The film was recreated by Chang-dong Lee from a short story, Cheong-jun Lee's "A Story of a Worm." They have some similarities and differences. Both deal with very serious themes such as forgiveness and existential human being. The original story, "A Story of a Worm," has a tragic ending with suicide of its heroine, the mother of Alam, while the film, Milyang (or Secret Sunshine), ends in hope because its heroine, Sin-ae meets her "secret sunshine," Jong-chan. The original story focuses on difficulty of salvation and limitedness of human existence like a worm. The film, however, suggests possibility of salvation despite of the same existential problem. It opens with a wide shot of the sky and concludes with the camera trained on a patch of earth. The film maker, Mr. Lee, wanted to show that the meaning of life is not far from where we are. It’s not up there. It’s here, in our actual life. As Shin-ae agonizes over the meaning of suffering and the mystery of salvation, the movie evolves into a provocative study of madness and belief. Through its limpid, humble approach to suffering and grace, the film gives a message that salvation is possible by way of true communication among human beings. Likewise, the film communicated with its original story, and this enabled the meanings of the original story to be reinterpreted, developed, and enriched.