(Movie Review) ‘Reset’ echoes unanswered questions of Sewol tragedy, offers few in return

Eleven years have passed since a ferry slipped beneath the waves off South Korea’s southwestern coast, claiming 304 lives — mostly high school students bound for Jeju Island on a field trip that was never meant to end in sorrow.

On an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday morning, the slow descent of the great ferry was broadcast live across the nation — a tragedy unfolding in real time. At one point, the screen momentarily offered false hope that all had been saved.

Salvation, however, never came and the nation was left to bear, with aching helplessness, the weight of a loss too vast to comprehend. Four hours after the first SOS call rang out at 8:55 a.m. the ship had vanished under the dark waters.

What followed was a collective mourning — government probes, a flood of films and documentaries, and aching reflection.

Director-producer Min Bae’s documentary film “Reset” primarily traces the emotional journey, over nine years since the tragedy’s outset, of Moon Jong-taek, father of Moon Ji-sung, one of the 250 student victims.

During the painstaking years, Moon emerged as both a fierce advocate and a meticulous documentarian, capturing every thread of the Sewol ferry tragedy in his search for the elusive truth behind its sinking.

Lost in the enduring sorrows, he built invisible walls around himself. His all-consuming obsession over the long painful years left the rest of his family feeling forgotten.

He and others have focused especially on the rescue operation, examining not only its shortcomings but also the potential for a deliberate failure to act.

They were also consumed by the crucial question of why students were repeatedly instructed to “stay still,” while some of the crew members, including the captain, rapidly evacuated to the upper decks of the sinking ship and were rescued.

In one poignant scene, Yoo Kyung-geun, who lost his daughter Ye-eun in the tragedy, wishes he had a time machine. He is haunted by the memory of her last words to him: “Dad, a rescue team has just arrived outside!”

“If only I had told her to get out of there, it still wasn’t too late then. She could have escaped to safety and would be alive now,” he lamented.

The victims likely trusted the authorities to act correctly, holding the false hope that compliance and orderly behavior were the right response to the chaotic unfolding events.

While “Reset” repeatedly questions the failed system and botched rescue operations, it ultimately offers few definitive conclusions, leaving viewers grappling for the same answers that the victims’ families still desperately seek. These families continue to mourn, awaiting explanations, with the scars left by the tragedy remaining raw and unhealed.

“Reset” won the Grand Prix in the feature documentary category at last month’s London Frames International Film Festival. The film is set for local release on April 30.