Two people find acceptance in each other, if no one else, in Shin Su-won’s road drama.
“When I wear a mask people like me more.”
Se-oh (Han Hyun-min) is a man who was, supposedly, born with a genetic mutation that makes him look astonishingly like a Black man. I write supposedly because it’s pretty clear from minute one that Se-oh is half-Black, despite the many protestations from his mother. Living in Korea is hard for him: he is often mistaken for a tourist, despite only speaking Korean, and even if most people treat him with respect, it’s always with distance, and distrust.
Tired of having to explain his existence to everyone, he spends all of his money on an expensive suitcase and other items, goes on a train and announces he will give the suitcase to anyone who will be his friend and hang out with him for two days.
A film about accepting yourself, the Mutation fits very nicely in its genre, being a road movie shared by two people who always feel like they have to apologise for simply being alive. His companion in this film is So-ra (Lee Zoo-young), a table maker and lesbian whose relationship caused immense distress in her home town when her new lover split up with her fiancé over it. To make things worse, So-ra is mourning the loss of this new partner, who passed away shortly before the events of the film.
Both her relationship and Se-oh’s “condition” speak to some of South Korea’s most deep-seated conservative values. The country’s lack of anti-discrimination laws are a big threat to equality in the country, and Se-oh experiences this first-hand. A lot is left unspoken, but several scenes really highlight this. A violin player at the park he works at flirted heavily with him when he was in the tiger outfit, but when he tries to talk to her outside of this costume, she can’t get away fast enough.
So-ra suffers in a similar way. She and her lover were born different, in a world that still doesn’t accept them. This is even more relevant for the latter, who was clearly marrying somebody they had no interest in because it was just the thing to do. Finding this partner allowed her to be free, but at the cost of losing her family. But even a death doesn’t elicit sympathy from local villagers – just a continued resentment of the marriage that was torn apart.
While the film shows two marginalised people coming together, and accepting themselves, the film isn’t shy in telling us that things aren’t going to be easy for either of them going forward. There are changes happening, of course there are, but the traditional values of the country still run through a lot of its population. It’s fitting then, that the lead is played by Han Hyun-min who is a mixed-race model and influencer in South Korea. A film like this is important, even if it does occasionally feel like it’s hammering the nail a bit heavy. The Mutation might keep a swanky suitcase, but it certainly has a lot to unpack.
Verdict: Highlighting some of its country’s most pressing social issues, The Mutation lets its leads do the talking, ensuring it never gets too heavy-handed with its preachiness.
The Mutation (2025)
Korean
Director: Shin Su-won
CAST
Han Hyun-min – Se-oh
Lee Zoo-young – So-ra
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