'It's okay to take your time,' film says

Sep 25, 2019
Film starring intellectually impaired guitarist encourages audiences to live at their own pace
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From left, director Hyun Jin-sik, guitarist Kim Ji-hee and her mother Lee Soon-do pose at a press conference held at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, Monday.
In a world where being fast is touted as a virtue, one might feel pressured to live at a much faster pace than one wants, and this speedy way of life may become overwhelming.
But "Free My Soul, Free My Song," a serene musical documentary, delivers the message that it is okay to take your time, and live at your own pace. 
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Free My Soul, Free My Song" follows through guitarist Kim Ji-hee's journey to overcome her limitations as an artist and to release her first song.
The documentary follows a guitarist with a mild intellectual disability who persistently strives to create her own piece and hold a solo concert.
The 24-year-old, who was diagnosed with an intellectual disability at age 13, began playing the guitar in high school. Since then, she has had over 400 performances at various venues, including in the U.S. and at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics.
As an artist, she has dreamt of having her own music to perform.
Creative industries are known to be fast-paced and there is a biased view that artists have to keep up with that pace in order to succeed, which leaves little room for people who create work more slowly or differently.
However, Kim chose to break such stereotypes and prove that people can be artists at their own pace. She persistently pursued her dream of releasing her official debut song "Mom's Back," with the help of her guitar teacher and family.
"The film is not about a disabled person playing music. But instead it's about a girl with a strong pursuit in music and she uses it to present her own world, despite her mental traits," director Hyun Jin-sik, who's also a guitarist, said at a press conference held at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, Monday.
"Disability, here, is not used to depict disabled people overcoming his or her limitations. It is used to show the limitation of incompetence that everyone has. By seeing Ji-hee's effort and progress she made after overcoming limitations, I hope audiences can realize what attitude they should have towards hurdles they are facing." 
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A scene from the film in which Kim practices her debut song "Mom's Back" 
Kim is a shy, timid girl who has difficulty communicating with other people and is not comfortable being in a crowd. However, the film captures the guitarist's joy and confidence in performing in front of people. Though she barely talks and speaks softly, her shyness disappears when she plays the guitar on stage.
This could only be possible through the dedication and support of her mother Lee Soon-do, who is also a full-time manager for the guitarist. She explained that she set up numerous small performances in cafes and subway stations to help her daughter overcome extreme stage fright.
"Ji-hee used to be a girl who would always hide behind me. But through the guitar, she can stand strong in front of anyone. She is full of confidence and joy when she's up on stage," said Lee.
Pity is not the sentiment that the film offers nor is it what the producer intended to offer.
"The original film title was 'Little Girl Blue,' a Jazz song which speaks about giving comfort and warm support to a girl with an unfortunate life. In a way, it was how I felt about Ji-hee," the director said.
"But as I was filming, I realized I was unconsciously looking at disabled people with the eyes of sympathy. Disability is not something that goes away. It's part of their life. And I noticed this obvious thing later as I was filming," he added that he changed the title to convey her perspective of the dream, instead of how others view her.
"I still have a lot to work on to be more expressive when playing the guitar. But I will work hard to be a guitarist with warm sensibility rather than just being skillful," the guitarists said.
She added that she hopes other people with disabilities and young people can gain hope and inspiration through her movie.
The film is set to hit local theaters Oct. 3.
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