Acacia
(Tartan Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2003)
review by Catwalk

When a couple has been married for a long time and unable to bear children, they turn to adoption. Do-il (Kim) and Mi-sook (Shim) finally reach the decision to adopt when Mi-sook is inspired by the drawings of one little boy, Jin-sung (Moon).

After a brief time where the couple feels the added strain of raising a six-year old boy, Mi-sook becomes pregnant. Jin-sung immediately dreads the pending arrival of the baby, fearing that he will be cast aside for the true flesh and blood child of the family. He spends much of his time sitting in the branches of the withered Acacia tree in the family’s yard.

During one argument on a rainy night, things reach a heated climax, and the boy goes missing. Then the Acacia tree, and the movie itself, begins to bloom.

Acacia features some beautiful shots by cinematographer Oh Hyun-Je, including some dramatic colorization at key points of the movie. Each of the lead actors portrays the strain of the sudden chaos in their lives well. The pace suffers at points where the plot requires the children to carry the movie, and may feel slow at times, but the payoff ending is well worth the wait.

Acacia is not necessarily a horror movie, but it is a suspenseful tale with a few very horrific events within.

Extras include cast and director commentary, photo gallery, a making-of featurette and trailers for other Tartan releases. Subtitles are provided in English and Spanish. Dolby digital 5.1 surround and DTS 5.1 surround are among the supported audio.