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Approved For Adoption DVD Review. Is Somewhat Charming

Approved For Adoption DVD Review
By: MattInRC

The autopic Approved for Adoption is somewhat charming but its message arrives with mixed results.

The somewhat charming Approved for Adoption by Laurent Boileau and Jung Henin is based on Henin's graphic novel about his adoption after the Korean War. Mixing animation and live action, Approved for Adoption is a autobio of Henin, who struggled to understand why his Belgian parents adopted him. The wave of Korean children adopted in Europe after the war was extraordinary, but the adjustment was difficult for many, including Henin who felt as foreign in his own skin as other children perceived him to be.

It's being billed as an 'animated documentary' but the mix is too live-action heavy to be truly one or the other. This seems to be part and parcel of Approved for Adoption, as it also blurs the line between a boy's search for answers and the world he can't seem to understand.

The animation, a mix of brownish Winnie the Pooh hues and stylized movements, shows Henin as a youth doing playful boy things, including shooting an arrow at one of his sisters and joining the dance club so he can watch girls. But as an adult, Henin returns to Korea to investigate his biological family and tries to deal with the feeling that he's neither Korean nor European. We learn that Henin doesn't even know his real birthdate, and the details of his life in Korea are virtually non-existent.

Whether this creates empathy or not is debatable; films of this type can easily become lost in the author's journey, focusing so much on tender moments that the overall message is lost. There's never an 'a-ha' moment during Henin's travel to South Korea, nor does his meeting with the orphanage result in any real drama that serves to bring closure for the viewer. Adoptive just sits there, content to show a boy who failed to appreciate his adoptive situation until it was almost too late. In the end, Henin's true heritage remains a mystery, leaving us wondering if there was a point to the film at all.

But there is something positive to take away: that for all the questions which remain as the credits roll, Henin's love for his adoptive mother is all he has left, and that growing up and moving on is a part of life, whether we want to or not. Do you have to watch Approved for Adoption to appreciate this logic? Probably not. Approved for Adoption is unrated and has a runtime of 75 minutes.

Discuss this review with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.

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