Synopsis
This remarkable animated documentary traces the unconventional upbringing of the filmmaker Jung Henin, one of thousands of Korean children adopted by Western families after the end of the Korean War. It is the story of a boy stranded between two cultures. Animated vignettes – some humorous and some poetic – track Jung from the day he first meet his new blond siblings, through elementary school, and into his teenage years, when his emerging sense of identity begins to create fissures at home and ignite the latent biases of his adoptive parents. The filmmaker tells his story using his own animation intercut with snippets of super-8 family footage and archival film. The result is an animated memoir like no other: clear-eyed and unflinching, humorous, and above all, inspiring in the capacity of the human heart.
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Cast
- William CorynJung
- Christelle CornilLa mère
- Jean-Luc CouchardLe père
- Arthur DuboisJung (8 ans)
- David MacalusoJung (17 ans)
Recommendations
- 80
Los Angeles Times
A vibrant example of hybrid nonfiction filmmaking, using hand-drawn animation, live action, home movies and newsreels in a rich synthesis of personal and historical memory. - 80
Wall Street Journal
Visualizations are Mr. Jung's province, and they're what make his movie so deeply moving, as well as literally illuminating. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Crucially, Jung and Boileau manage to convey the bonds of affection and love that hold this unusual family together, in a manner that will ring a moving chord with many who have experienced similar circumstances. - 70
Variety
It’s impossible not to be charmed on some level by Jung Henin and Laurent Boileau’s Approved for Adoption, though it’s best not to ask for too much. - 70
Village Voice
Watching the animated memoir Approved for Adoption can stir a serenity like skipping stones on water for a delightfully long time. - 70
The New York Times
The movie is not always well unified and sequenced, but that seems to reflect Mr. Henin’s ambivalence over a past that’s like a book he is at once rereading and rewriting.
