AJOOMMA

An older Singaporean woman casts off her domestic shackles on a solo trip to South Korea and sets off on a comic adventure of a lifetime in AJOOMMA, the directorial feature debut of He Shuming. A charming central performance from Hong Huifang as “Auntie Lim” is at the heart of this story, a woman with two unconditional loves: her adult son and Korean dramas. But, as her son breaks the news that he is moving to America, this widow’s very small life is torn asunder. Still, she reluctantly decides to go along on her already booked K-drama tour group trip, more so because it’s non-refundable. Auntie Lim’s trip soon reflects her favorite K-drama’s melodramatic plotline, in which the handsome protagonist (played by hugely popular South Korean star Yeo Jingoo) is attempting to reconnect with his birth mother. As is familiar with the usual fish-out-water narratives, Auntie Lim meets a host of colorful characters through the film, all of whom bring her out of her comfort zone and make her understand her worth, as Lim soon makes it her mission to help her handsome Korean tour guide to reconnect with his family, which also involves a meet-cute with an older security guard played by veteran actor Jung Dong-wan. Director He Shuming in interviews has said he wanted to make a film that his mother would enjoy. AJOOMMA is a classic fish-out-of-water story of self discovery with some charming and oftentimes funny twists and turns. With so many K-drama fans in Hawai‘i, this film is right up their alley! –Anderson Le