Birthday Boy
The year is 1951, the place is Korea and there is a war going on. The hero of the story is Manuk. We first see him exploring the wreck of a downed plane looking for some 'useful' bits of metal.
Manuk wanders around the town on his way home, playing perilously close to the railway - using the trains to flatten bits of metal which he uses to make small toys.
There are some funny moments, he throws a stone during a game and it hits a cyclist. There is a poignant moment at the end when a parcel arrives. The audience is led to assume that his father has been killed in action and these are his possessions. Manuk does not realise.
Manuk wanders around the town on his way home, playing perilously close to the railway - using the trains to flatten bits of metal which he uses to make small toys.
There are some funny moments, he throws a stone during a game and it hits a cyclist. There is a poignant moment at the end when a parcel arrives. The audience is led to assume that his father has been killed in action and these are his possessions. Manuk does not realise.
Teaching Ideas
- Look at similarities and difference between Manuk's life and ours.
- Rewrite small sections as a narrative, e.g. the stone throwing incident, or the thrill of seeing the train/planes.
- Create a box with some of the items in - show the children the items one by one. Who could they belong to? What could have happened to the person that owned them?
- Write letters between Manuk and his Father.
- Write a dialogue between Manuk and his mother, him retelling what he has been up to whilst she tries to persuade him to be careful.
- Write the next scene in the film. Mother comes home - what happens?
- Write a description for the image of the higgledy-piggledy rooftops.
