'The Father's Heart' gives real-life examples of living a full life with compassion

Centering on real-life events such as the story of Compassion International's founder Everett Swanson and a Korean father who tragically lost his son, “The Father’s Heart” is a documentary born from the desire to speak to audiences about the...

Left, director Kim Sang-cheol of ″The Father's Heart,″ and right, Hwang Tae-hwan, who appeared in the documentary [DREAM FACT ENTERTAINMENT]

Centering on real-life events such as the story of Compassion International's founder Everett Swanson and a Korean father who tragically lost his son, “The Father’s Heart” is a documentary born from the desire to speak to audiences about the meaning of a good life.

“I wanted to ask the question of what it means to lead a good life,” director Kim Sang-cheol said during a group interview with local reporters at CGV Yongsan in central Seoul on Wednesday. “Everybody aspires to live well, but it is often hard for people to find the right path. Through the humanitarian acts of Swanson and the stories of the people in our documentary, I wanted to suggest that giving to others is the way.”

In “The Father’s Heart,” the two stories, of how Reverend Everett Swanson came to found the nongovernmental organization Compassion International and how an ordinary father, Hwang Tae-hwan, goes on a journey to find meaning again following the death of his son, are dealt with side by side. Swanson founded Compassion International for Korean War orphans, and Hwang is shown to have been a supporter of Compassion International for a long time. Although Hwang feels detached from the NGO’s activities, it helps him find meaning after his own son passes away and he starts hearing stories of orphans overseas.

“I hope that families watch ‘The Father’s Heart’ together,” Hwang said. “It is the kind of film that will resonate differently with different audiences. I hope that families will open up to one another and have candid conversations with each other once they watch the film.

Main poster for ″The Father's Heart″ [DREAM FACT ENTERTAINMENT]

“The Father’s Heart” also features the story of a boy from Rwanda who lost his father and become an orphan in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. Kim and Hwang said that the producers of the documentary had originally planned to go to Kenya to get a story of an orphaned child, but they decided to change their plans after finding out about the genocide.

“The Rwandan genocide is a scar for the whole country, and we wanted to see what story we could show by featuring a child who was orphaned due to this tragedy,” Kim said. “We wanted to bring the spirit of Compassion International to Rwanda and deal with the sadness and tragedy of losing your family in such a historical case of violence.”

The title of the documentary, “The Father’s Heart,” refers not just to individual fathers but also to God, according to Kim. Kim is a minister as well as a film director whose past works, including “The Martyrdom” (2015) and “The Disciple John Oak” (2014), have dealt with themes of Christianity.

“I think there is a lot that Korean churches can do for the community at large,” Kim said. “We often criticize the church for a lot of things, which is also necessary at times, but I believe that churches are for the greater good and can serve an important purpose in society. Swanson, who was a reverend, knew this, and this is depicted in our film.”

“The Father’s Heart” opens in theaters on July 20.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]