Synopsis
This movie reveals the joys and sorrows of the poor family life more clearly than A Petty Middle Manager . It starts with the heavy steps of the old KIM Seung Ho, who has been a sub-manager for a long time. KIM Seung Ho, a man of high integrity, puts a great emphasis on honesty both at home and at work. However, he is compulsorily retired as he refuses to cooperate with other managers who conspire in the absence of the president of the company. He tries to get a new job, but the society treats him coldly, and he stirs up troubles by continuously attempting to commit suicide of his own will or against his own will. He sticks to his belief and tries to live honestly despite many difficulties and at the end he is finally reinstated in his job. In the movie, the funny episodes are overlapped with the sad scenes of the poor family suffering financial difficulties. Such a good match is the result of properly making funny situations and witty lines which breathe life into the characters under the hard living condition. The case in point is the following episode. Meeting his daughter at the exam room, the father feels painful as he realizes his daughter gave up her study to make money. But later he keeps asking his daughter the answers of the exam. Because of his age, it becomes more difficult for him to get a new job, and the circumstances get worse. However, suddenly he is saved by the reinstatement and the favor of his junior who wants to return his kindness. Although such an artificial happy ending might seem to be loose, we can infer the director's intention from the line of the youngest son, "My father becomes a salaried man once again." Rather than to pursue the reality, the director chose to give comfort to the audience who had to live an exhausted life at that time. It is quite interesting that there are many movies made in the year of 1962 particularly emphasizing the virtue of honest workers. (LEE Gil Sung)