Searching for Go-Hyang

In this rather unusual little program, young adult Korean twin sisters visit their homeland after 14 years of living as American adoptees. Turns out their birthparents had to give them up when financial and medical circumstances forced their hands, and--if the tears they shed onscreen are any indication--the parents did not feel good about it. As it happens, their instincts to feel bad were right: the girls grew up abused and neglected, and left their adopted home when they were high school freshmen. In home-movie style, with occasional breaks for dance, poetry, segments from letters, and music, we follow the Korean family as the girls arrive at the airport, share a meal at the parents' home, exchange gifts and stories, and then leave. Touching and sad though the story is, I'm not exactly sure of its emphasis: Is it warning people against adopting children of different cultures? Is it a form of catharsis for the family, since one of the adopted girls actually produced the video? Is it meant as a call to activism for more stringent adoption laws in general? The tape's sound, dubbing, and subtitles do not make it any easier to follow its story or intent: lots of background noise, coupled with points where three people are speaking at once, and white captions on white backgrounds, don't exactly help. Optional. Aud: C, P. (K. Glaser)