The APAHM Project Day 16: Umma
- Lauren
- May 16
- 5 min read
Film: Umma
Directed By: Iris K. Shim
Release: 2022
Where to Watch: Hulu
Why It Made The List:
Written and directed by Asian American filmmaker Iris K. Shim, Umma stars fan-favorite Sandra Oh fresh off her Golden Globe win for her performance in "Killing Eve." Oh, along with Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead series, Spider-Man) serve as producers. Umma allows Oh to star in a genre we have never seen her in before as her character Amanda fights the horrors of generational trauma caused by her mother.
My Thoughts:
Umma centers around Amanda (born Soo-Hyun) and her daughter, Chrissy, who live on an isolated farm, raise bees and livestock, sells honey, and live without electricity. Amanda, traumatized by her immigrant mother, prefers to live in solitude. Her daughter has been raised without the necessary social skills to make friends or go to school, causing Amanda to home school her. Their only friend is Danny, the local convenient shop owner. When his niece River comes to visit and starts hanging out with Chrissy, Chrissy is exposed to life outside her mother's walls and discovers that Amanda actually does not have an allergic reaction to electricity like she claims. Danny encourages Chrissy to apply to college and she begins to fill out her application (via typewriter). It is then where Chrissy discovers her mother isn't who she says she is.
Earlier in the film, Amanda's uncle comes to visit her. He expresses his frustration in tracking her down due to her lack of phone number and email. He then criticizes Amanda for not teaching Chrissy any Korean, despite Amanda claiming she's American. Uncle Kang continues that you can never hide who you are and that the worst thing Amanda has ever done is change her Korean name, the very name her mother called out as she passed. Uncle Kang delivers the news that Amanda's mother (Umma) passed a few months ago and he delivers her ashes for Amanda to honor her mother's death properly (jesa). Uncle Kang says that her mother died of a heart attack, but insists the real reason is because Amanda abandoned her. Amanda insists she doesn't want the suitcase full of her mother's things, but Uncle Kang doesn't seem to care. He tells her it is the child's obligation to her parents in life and death and afterward, otherwise her mother will be trapped between this life and the next like a demon. Until Amanda performs the jesa, Umma will seep and poison Amanda. Spoiler alert: Amanda does not perform the jesa.
Spooky things begin to ensue as Chrissy grows more curious about her Umma and family's past and Amanda suppresses her trauma and resists becoming like her own mother. River reveals she snuck her phone into the house and that Amanda didn't have a reaction. Chrissy tells Danny this and Danny tells her that Amanda's sickness is real to her. Later, after Chrissy tells Amanda she's crazy and lying about her illness, Amanda says that just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't real. The psychological trauma Amanda endured from her Umma is real. Umma used to lock Amanda in a closet and make her hold an exposed wire in a lamp as punishment. Amanda tells Uncle Kang that she only cut off the electricity when Chrissy was born, which reveals she wanted to prevent causing that sort of pain to her own child.
Chrissy accuses Amanda of sabotaging her college application and Amanda claims it was Umma who did this. After an argument and Chrissy saying she cannot wait to leave Amanda, Amanda tells her everything she has ever done was for Chrissy and that she will not survive on her own. I think whether your parents or grandparents have said it outright or not, feeling guilt as the child of an immigrant is inevitable. As I "waste" my days being lazy or spend my money on "useless" things, I think to myself if this is the life my hard-working and sacrificing immigrant family saw for me. Am I spoiled or lazy or don't understand the value of hard work? Do I take their sacrifice for granted? Am I their American Dream? Feeling guilty for not being in survival mode 24/7 I think is completely normal. But weaponizing that. guilt the way Umma, and now Amanda, do is where the generational trauma cycle continues. Amanda was forced to stay by Umma's side. She was once an accomplished dressmaker in South Korea who followed her husband to America where she didn't know English and couldn't ask for help. When the father left, Umma latched onto Amanda for survival. Umma wouldn't let Amanda go out of her own fear. Amanda claims that Chrissy is homeschooled because she can't make friends and that she is Chrissy's only friend. But in reality, Amanda is scared of losing Chrissy too. She herself has no friends and uses Chrissy as a crutch. As much as we say "I will never become my mother/father," you tend to adopt their habits. You don't know any other way to be a parent but to use the examples in your own life. Once Chrissy hears Umma tell her she is so much like her mother, Chrissy decides to break the cycle. Together, she and Amanda stop the trauma.
Amanda confronts Umma's spirit. She tells her life was cruel to Umma, but Umma was cruel to her. They cannot exist together like this. Umma tells Amanda she will always be a part of her. We can accept that our trauma and past are a part of us, but doesn't have to define us. Amanda walks away and agrees to give Umma her jesa, but she is done carrying her pain. I think this is such a strong message. It's important to remember your own parents are learning too. No one handed them a step-by-step guide on how to be a parent. Even my own parents are great and I love them, but they unintentionally traumatized me in some ways. But there are some parents who decide that if they had to suffer, their children should too (I do know parents like this unfortunately). Their own trauma is not yours to bear.
In the end, Amanda and Chrissy, dressed in hanboks, perform the jesa for Umma. Danny takes Chrissy away to begin college and Amanda is left alone. To understand yourself, you have to learn about your past. Chrissy, who never embraced any part of her Korean heritage, is now closer to this part of her identity because Amanda showed it to her. Just as generational trauma must end, it is up to those before us to pass down traditions and heritage so we can keep those customs alive.
In Conclusion:
I think using generational trauma as a horror story is pretty clever! We have seen a lot of movies in recent years focus on generational trauma, such as Turning Red and Everything Everywhere All At Once. We have seen movies focus on immigrant tragedies and using racism as horror as well (Sinners, Get Out). Iris S. Kim grew up in Chicago without seeing anyone on TV look like her. Her parents were apprehensive about her working in film due to instability. But she has forged her own way with Umma being her third feature she directed. Umma is one of those movies that must be rooted in authenticity for it to succeed. Only someone who is close to the subject matter (generational trauma) could pull off a genre-ed film such as this.
Shout Out!
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If You Liked This, You Might Also Like:
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Turning Red
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