Free Chol Soo Lee

The case of a wrongly imprisoned Korean immigrant in San Francisco is compellingly spotlit in Julie Ha and Eugene Yi's provocative documentary.

For most people who reach the age of twenty-one that is a time of looking forward in a way that is coloured by dreams and aspirations, but when Chol Soo Lee, a Korean living in America, reached that point in his life in 1973 any possibility of doing that was snatched away. Having been brought up initially in Korea by kindly relatives, an uncle and an aunt, he had been uprooted at the age of twelve when his mother, previously an absent figure, came back into his life and took him to live with her in San Francisco (he was then 12 years old). Ill-treated by his mother and adrift in a city where he felt as a Korean that he was a lone outsider, he had a troubled childhood, was set upon in school and soon ended up in Juvenile Hall. But, if a promising future might have seemed somewhat unlikely, another shattering event followed which changed his life completely: he was falsely accused of being the assassin in a street killing involving Chinese gangs, found guilty and given a life sentence.

This highly praised documentary by Julie Ha and Eugene Yi tells his story and, since it is probably not one well-known to British viewers, it seems best not to reveal here what happened to Chol Soo Lee subsequently. What can be said is that the filmmakers tell the tale compellingly through a mix of archive footage, fresh interviews and substantial quotes from Chol Soo Lee's own words spoken by Sebastian Yoon. Occasionally animation is used, but the most notable feature here is the speed with which the story is told. Contributors include friends (most notably Ranko Yamada, a woman from Japan), the journalist K. W. Lee (no relative) who played a key role in publicising the case, various lawyers involved and individuals who became part of an important Defence Committee.

While this is a gripping personal story, it is also one which, regardless of refusing to slow down its pace, encourages viewers to ponder wider related issues. These range from various forms of racism to the brutality that can flourish in prison life and bring into question the effectiveness of such institutions. In the process, the film pinpoints failings in the legal system arguably influenced by prejudice but illustrates too how the case of Chol Soo Lee became a cause that brought together Asian-Americans from various nations united in fighting an injustice that had become a symbol of oppression.

I would unquestionably recommend Free Chol Soo Lee even though it is not without problems. One such arises due to a virtue: when a narrative moves this fast you feel that you have got through so much that you have been watching for longer than is actually the case. After about an hour marked by this quick tempo one has the impression that the film’s 86 minutes must be drawing to a close and that seems to be confirmed by the fact that the narrative reaches a climactic point which suggests that the film is about to end. This could have been countered by presenting the material up to this point as Part I and then introducing the last twenty-five minutes or so as Part II. In fact, this segment has a different character from what has preceded it. Earlier on the film has positively gained by being honest about the failings of Chol Soo Lee thereby making valid points about the pressures that can all too easily contribute to immigrants going off the rails. In that context Chol Soo Lee's virtues and his positive achievements seem all the more remarkable. But what emerges in the film’s last third calls for more detailed treatment than it receives if we are to identify fully with the ups and downs of this man's life. The first hour of the film is solid, the rest somewhat less so - but the film certainly deserves to be seen.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Featuring  Kyung Won Lee, Jeff Adachi, Ranko Yamada, Josiah Thompson, David Kakishiba, Jay Kun Yoo, Gail Whang, Jai Lee Wong, Mike Suzuki, Tony Serra, Sung Soo Yoo, Richard Kim and the voce of Sebastian Yoon and with archive footage of Chol Soo Lee.

Dir Julie Ha and Eugene Yi, Pro Eugene Yi, Julie Ha, Su Kim, Jean Tsien and Sona Jo, Screenplay Julie Ha, Eugene Yi and Sebastian Yoon, in collaboration with Carol Dysinger, based on the words of Chol Soo Lee, Ph Michael Chin and Jerry Henry, Ed Jean Tsien and Aldo Velasco, Music Gretchen Jule.

Chol Soo Lee Documentary/Center for Asian America Media/JustFilms/TinyMetal Buildings/SonaFilms-Mubi.
86 mins. USA. 2022. US Rel: 12 August 2022. UK Rel: 19 August 2022. Cert. 15.