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Mother Tongue (2002)

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Mother Tongue

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

You can view the short film Mother Tongue here in its entirety. In Korea in 1976, a young Korean girl and her mother record daily events for the girl’s absent father, then learn English in preparation for their move to Australia. Voice-over narration is by Anita Beckman.

Curator’s notes

by Dr Marian Quigley

Shifts in time and distance are skilfully evoked by dissolves and metamorphoses. The figure of Hong Gyong’s mother looking out of a window becomes an illustration for the word ‘window’ in the English language book. Meanwhile, the way in which Hong Gyong’s memory and imagination mingle with her English lessons is conveyed by the projection of her father’s image onto a page of her textbook.

The movement from one language and culture to another is subtly expressed by the change from left-right to right-left turning of the pages of the girl’s Korean and English books. The child’s perspective is indicated by Hong Gyong’s assumption of the animator’s role as she draws a picture of her absent father which then becomes a character in the film.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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