Many filmmakers fall prey to either trying to be too expansive on a subject, or on treating the documentary as a puzzle box for viewers rather than working to make them care. Deann Borshay, fortunately, chose to avoid the usual traps, even though I can imagine there must have been temptation to delve into, such as the identity of the girl she replaced before being adopted by an American family (Borshay does later make a documentary on that subject - 2010's "In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee").
You can't help feeling drawn into Borshay's story as she introduces us to her American family - parents and a brother and sister who are pleasant, but also struggle with why she doesn't want to just see herself as their daughter and sister. In conversations with mother Alveen we get hints of the pain this identity crisis and miscommunication caused, but Borshay never tries to inject melodrama or manipulate viewers.
Once the story moves to Borshay getting in touch with her biological mother and siblings in South Korea, we learn her identity crisis only deepened, culminating in a sequence where, to try to find some sort of peace, she invites her American parents to meet her Korean family. Borshay does reach an answer within herself, which leads to some touching moments with her American mother, but we know her journey is far from over. The quality and purity of her work means we are just glad we got to take some of that journey with her.
