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I Can Speak

Play trailer 1:25 Poster for I Can Speak Released Sep 22, 2017 1h 59m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Ok-Bun, an elderly woman famous for filing complaints at the district office, finds out that Min Jae, a civil service officer, is good at English and asks him to teach her. As they study together, Min Jae discovers the heartbreaking past of Ok-bun.

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Elizabeth Kerr The Hollywood Reporter As intellectually and morally unassailable as it is, I Can Speak, as a film, is emotionally manipulative and narratively schizophrenic. Jan 26, 2018 Full Review William Schwartz HanCinema For all her bluster, Ok-boon is a surprisingly lonely older woman, and it's to the credit of I Can Speak that we never really pity her. Nov 16, 2019 Full Review James Marsh South China Morning Post Na gives a wonderful performance, revelling in the opportunity to play such a despised yet complicated individual. Rated: 3.5/5 Jan 16, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (10) audience reviews
Carolina C This is a must see for whoever loves Korean productions and wants to know more about the consequences of the period when Japan took control of the Korean territory. It is, of course, a tear jerker and the actors are phenomenal - Na Moon-hee and Lee Je Hoon shine bright and have great chemistry! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/11/22 Full Review Audience Member I didn't know I could cry that much. At first I just wanted to get rid of the old lady but then I realized she was just trying to do the right thing all along and that she should've open up about her issues a long time ago to make things better. Overall, you will be happy you watched it and learned something new. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member RIP Ms. Kim, Bok Dong, who was taken away by Japanese Army and forced to work as a sex slave during WWII. She was teen when she was captured. Her story was made into a movie "I can speak." Japanese gov't never formally apologized their war crimes. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie I Can Speak is very typical Korean movie which is like the first half is cheerful comedy and the latter half part creates anger and be moved to tears at the same time. Despite the movie being generic, it doesn't detract from the meaning. But because the movie is generic, it is more easily relatable. A problem with how typical these movies are is they can be redundant and even a little boring. And the visual point change of the first half and the latter half was consisted as too sudden and unstable. On 2007, United States Congressional Hearing passed Japanese army comfort women apologize as anonymously. Ms. Lee and Kim who were the actual victim of Japanese military sexual slavery, they gave evidence on the hearing. They were asked to the hearing which was for demand an apology from Japan to the victims including Korea, China, etc. This movie is imaginary story based on this matter. Ms. Na is the protagonist of this movie. Ms. Na always files a civil complaint trivial matters from the village where she lives. She is called as goblin granma between people because she finds fault with everything one does. The ward officials consider her as unwelcome person, but she doesn't care. One Day, there was a new employee at that place, Mrs. Park was transferred to general civil service office. Ms. Na saw him speaks English very well. She asked him to be her English tutor, but he refused flatly. She didn't give up, she tried so hard, then he felt her enthusiasm, and started teaching her English. As they having tutoring they became very closer. Mr. Park was wondering why this old woman try to learn English. Ms. Na opened one's heart. When she was young, her brother was adopted to America, and she was taken to Japanese military sextual slavery and never met again. So, she just wanted talk to her brother on the phone, but she didn't know how to speak English. One day, Ms. Na's friend, Jung who was also victim, she became terminally ill patient. She was speaking in the world to let people know about the facts. Ms. Na pluck up courage through her friend, and thinks that she has to stand up before all the victims pass away. She followed a difficult process, to stand up on hearing and speak up. She had big courage cause of her friend and tutor Mr. Park. She also spoke up in Korean, too. She wanted to say her words honestly. Her neighborhood said sorry to her instead of Japanese army and console her pain. But why Japanese never give apology? Through Ms. Na's inner side, I could feel how people having contempt and poor treatment on Japanese sexual slavery victims were so painful to them. The world has been changed, and now we know how the victims were living desperate and painful life. This movie tells that the victims want only a heartfelt apology. This movie was like a gift set that has cheerful laugh, painful sadness, and strong emotivity. It brings tears to eyes. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Tragic but beautifully told and very emotional. Recommend highly. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member a MOVIE SO GOOD, i WROTE MY FIRST EVER MOVIE REVIEW. sEE THIS FILM WITHOUT RESEARCHING IT. sTAY WITH IT AS THE SEEMINGLY OBVIOUS CLASH OF PERSONALTIES MELLOWS INTO FRIENDSHIP, AND LET IT LULL YOU INTO SOMETHING OF A HAPPY PLACE, WITH MAYBE JUST A COUPLE OF RESERVATIONS THAT ARE SOON DISMISSED. tHEN WATCH THE REST OF THE MOVIE AND BE BLOWN AWAY BY WHAT SOMEBODY UNIQUE IN FILM MAKING HAS CREATED. tHIS FILM WENT STRAIGHT TO THE TOP OF MY LIST OF JOINT-1ST-PLACE, BEST EVER MOVIES. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Read all reviews
I Can Speak

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Ok-Bun, an elderly woman famous for filing complaints at the district office, finds out that Min Jae, a civil service officer, is good at English and asks him to teach her. As they study together, Min Jae discovers the heartbreaking past of Ok-bun.
Director
Kim Hyun-seok
Producer
Lee Ha-yeong
Screenwriter
Yoo Seung-hee
Distributor
CJ Entertainment
Production Co
Myung Films
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Korean
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 22, 2017, Limited
Runtime
1h 59m