‘The Ugly’ TIFF Review – ‘Train to Busan’ Director’s Latest Investigates a 40 Year Old Murder

Nothing stays buried in director Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan)’s latest, The Ugly. The film begins rather innocuously as television producer Kim Su-jin (Han Ji-hyeon) interviews Im Yeong-gyu (Kwon Hae-hyo), a famous blind stamp engraver, alongside his adult son, Dong-hwan (Park Jeong-min).

Initially it’s unclear what to make of the interview, which seems like a typical puff piece except for the moment that Su-jin becomes distracted by a curious scar across the back of Yeong-gyu’s wrist.

What begins as a small profile of a celebrated artist quickly transforms into a much larger story when father and son receive a life-changing call from police: the skeletal remains of Dong-hwan’s mother, Young-hee (Shin Hyun-been), have been discovered after a nearly forty year absence.

This kicks off both the film’s and the characters’ investigation into what happened to the missing woman, which is chronicled in The Ugly over the course of five interviews and an epilogue. 

It’s a clever plot device because Dong-hwan knows as little about his mother as the audience. He grew up without any pictures of her and his father never talked about her, which transforms the absent woman from an actual human being into a mystery to be solved. 

As the investigation proceeds, the interviews expand in scope to include Young-hee’s extended family, her former co-workers, and her shady boss, Baek Joo-sang (Im Seong-jae) at the garment factory. With each new conversation, Ms. Kim and Dong-hwan paint a portrait of a woman that time has nearly forgotten.