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.
Teaching Ideas
- Look at similarities and differences 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 from the film – show the children the items one by one. Who could they belong to? What could have happened to the person who owned them?
- Write letters between Manuk and his father.
- Write a dialogue between Manuk and his mother – he retells what he has been up to while she tries to persuade him to be careful.
- Write the next scene in the film – mother comes home, what happens?
- Write a description of the image of the higgledy-piggledy rooftops.
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