Mi-sseu-baek

A woman who has suffered abuse from an alcoholic mother sees a little girl in the street and befriends her and slowly draws closer and closer to the girl. She confronts the kids step mother and lowlife father who have been treating the girl worse than a dog. Korean social services is worse than ours in America. The story is a sad and riveting one. The kid is great and so is the lead heroic woman. I did not care for the sloppy editing and it makes the film a bit confusing. Even so, I highly recommend this tear jerker.

May be the story is a little bit unbelievable , but the play of the 2 main characters are really incredible. Is like a miracle the way the director lead such a dramatic story to the end. I note 8 , but is 8,5.

We are all (maybe) medically fit to be a parents, but are we all fit to raise a child?! Some of us think that child is just a nuisance and not a bless. And also, if we were abused as a child, would we also become an abuser later?! Couldn't we breakout of this vicious cycle and become a good parents?! This movie deals with that issue in every aspects, making it a balance movie.

Good script, good direction and good acting.

Definitely 9/10.

Shocking story for sure but just too hard to believe that South Korean police, family services and child safety could be that grossly pathetic. The timing of various events were also just too convenient.

Brutally simple child-abuse drama, with the usual South Korean penchant for sadism I've come to know pretty well by now. Which is to say I entered expecting blood, so unpleasant moments are present, but also no surprises in this regard. What surprised me is how Lee Ji-Won keeps it all tight and focused. Instead of relying on long, pointless moments of gratuitous violence and desperation, Miss Baek shows what's enough, and maybe just a little more, to understand lives forever ruined by a horrible childhood. Thus a tale of compassion and revenge becomes an attempt at reconciliation with one's own past and memories. Amidst the horror, tenderness is abundant, and that's when Miss Baek works better for me. The final shot is nothing less than heartbreaking.