Birth (2022)

A Birth of a Priest

For a long time I was searching for this movie, and finally I saw it and I must give it a 10/10 because I am so happy that it was made. This is not a typically entertainment movie but a historical biographical drama about the "adventures" of Andrew Kim Dae Geon, first Korean Priest.

The film is very long, but I watched it over four days with great excitement and interest, and that's why I wasn't bored at any point. I enjoyed every scene. The cinematography of the film is excellent. Every scene is detailed and beautiful as a photography. The actors are also very good. The flow of the plot is a bit fragmented as it covers a lot of topics and events, but that is understandable for this type of film. I think that those who are already familiar with the life of Andrew Kim will enjoy the film more because they will be able to recognize future saints in some of the characters along with the main character who is the trademark name of Korean saints.

Many elements from the film I already knew before, I have been to many places in Korea that are shown here, even on the small boat Rafael on Jeju Island. As a priest, I had a very emotional experience watching the challenges faced by the first Christians, accused of collaborating with foreign enemies and disrespecting the king, and especially the situation with priests who had to be ready for martyrdom and death.

That is the message of this movie. This is not about the birth of one man, but about the birth of a priest, the birth of a new Korea that will be open to the gospel, and a spiritual birth through baptism and martyr's blood, because what is death if not a new birth? Listen to the last words of the main character of this movie, priest Andrew Kim Dae geon: "I have held communication with foreigners only for my religion and my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is now on the point of birth."

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A true-to-life presentation of Korean history and its first Catholic priest

It's a very long and not very adventurous film, but it wasn't boring at all.

It presents Christianity faithfully and from the heart. If you are religious, it is a must see, but it is also a very good historical film. It shows the first contacts between Joseon and the western world. The film and sets are incredibly detailed, grandiose and accurate. We learn about geography, sailing and history while getting one step closer to what actual Christianity is.

We are also shown how Westerners are good and faithful people who spread the gospel, but also how they want to conquer and exploit the unknown.

Kim Tea-Gun was not only Korea's first priest and saint, but he was also the first to receive a Western education and learn European languages. This is huge when you consider how isolated Joseon was for 500 years. Their only contact was with China and Japan.

The actors were very good, although I would expect nothing less from a Korean film. There's a lot of Latin, French and Chinese spoken in it and the story is set in many, many places with surprisingly accurate and large sets.

I can't find the film anywhere, not even on illegal sites. Too bad you can't watch this gem anywhere.
I myself saw it officially distributed in cinemas during the Korean Film Week in Hungary.

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