Clean Up

After losing her son, Jungjoo loses all hope in life, drinking and smoking her life away. She tries to overcome the pain by attending church and praying diligently to no avail. Then one day, she meets Mingoo, a convicted criminal, wearing dirty clothes that have not seen a washer in who knows how long. He carries all his belongings in a plastic bag. Seeing him reminds Jungjoo of an event 12 years earlier. Clean up is a film about a woman coming face to face with a past she wants to forget. She kidnaps a child out of desperation and meets that child again 12 years later. The problem is that the child is now poor, lonely and scorned. She can’t ignore him, and not remembering who she is the boy feels safe with her. Clean up is a film about salvation and forgiveness. Will the two be able to overcome their feelings of guilt, resentment, and anger? Rather than giving a hasty conclusion, the film advances slowly towards a faint glimmer of hope. (Nam Dong-chul)