18/02/2023 - BERLINALE 2023: In her new film, which references her own experiences as an adopted child, the South Korean-born, Denmark-based filmmaker keeps things subtle

In The Quiet Migration [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malene Choi
film profile], presented in Panorama at this year’s Berlinale, Malene Choi subtly references her own experiences as an adopted child: born in South Korea, she grew up in Denmark. Now, this becomes Carl’s fate (Cornelius Won Riedel-Clausen), all alone on the family farm with his parents (Bjarne Henriksen and Bodil Jørgensen), who have already planned out his entire future. 

A few things surprised me about your film. There is not much explaining, for one. No one is really talking, as long as they can avoid it.
Malene Choi: I think it comes from my taste. I like things to be subtle, because it brings them closer to reality. Take Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – it was also very understated, which brings out all these nuances.

Life just… happens there. It’s about this difficult bond formed in an adoptive family. Sometimes, it can be hard to talk about the most important things. You are afraid that what it will come down to will be something along the lines of “I don’t like you as parents and we don’t like you as our child.” Most people know that racism is bad. But what happens when it hits an adoptive family? How do you deal with that? This actually comes straight from my personal experience: I didn’t know what to do and neither did they. Also, people don’t talk that much in the countryside. After seeing the film, some of them told me: “We don’t say a lot because we already know each other.”

When you are there, in the middle of nowhere, and you look completely different from anyone else, it’s almost comedic.
I was really trying to put that on screen, hoping it would come across. Just seeing him there, being so fragile… It does feel absurd. Cornelius is a non-professional actor, he is just being himself – I come from a documentary background, so I wanted to have elements of that in the film. He seems so small standing next to these cows. Or even to Bjarne and Bodil, who are so Danish. I believe that comedy comes from putting two opposites together. It just makes you laugh. 

He is imagining other people sitting right next to him, or his parents sometimes. Why did you want to add these more fantastical scenes?
When someone means a lot to you, you just take them with you. They stay in your mind. When I went back to Korea, I met many other adoptees and their stories had a huge impact on me. I kept carrying them with me, for 10 or so years, even though I knew I was never going to see them again. For Carl, it’s the first time he meets another Asian in that area. She understands his pain perfectly. When you can connect with another person like that, without uttering a single word, it’s something you don’t want to forget. 

Many people who are adopted, who were born in other countries, struggle with that notion: where do I belong, exactly? Would everything be easier if I just went back?
This question of belonging is such a big part of being adopted. There is some sorrow in it, and some grief, but you don’t know how to describe it. I don’t think Carl realizes that he is feeling uprooted. It’s just one of these things you can’t put in one box: there are so many feelings combined. But I wanted to bring it into this film and into his mood, because you do experience it. 

You don’t surround him with many people. He mostly interacts with his parents, who might not always understand him but they do love him.
When I was younger, I had many friends. But I still felt lonely. I was adopted and Asian in a white community. That being said, it really feels like younger people are moving to bigger cities these days. It’s mostly their parents who stay behind. 

In the beginning, his parents were supposed to be crueler. But we just couldn’t do it to Carl! Bjarne and Bodil said the same thing: “We just want to hug him!” There was some humanity and warmth that just tapped into the film in a way that neither me, nor the producers, could ever anticipate. Also, I think it just wouldn’t ring true, showing this family in a harsher light. 

Are you interested in mystery in cinema? There are secrets here, too, and you don’t reveal them all right away.
I am really, really interested in that. I am a huge fan of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and he leaves all these gaps in his stories. Still, to this day, I don’t really know what Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is about. But it just makes me want to watch it again. 

In life, there are some things that are never explained. With others, you have to slowly peel off some layers to get to the core. Sometimes you can’t get all the answers, and you know what? You just have to live with it. Or come up with your own stories to fill in the gaps.