Peeling Oranges

After a long time, Moon Jae returns home, to Umma, Korean for »mother« and her sister Luna. Moon Jae’s grandmother, her mother’s mother, alongside Frida Kahlo, haunts in the family’s rose garden – she cooks kimchi and sings traditional songs. Transcending the limits of love and death, continents and culture, reality and dreams, Patty Kim Hamilton tells a story of family and love.
Jae functions as the role model of her younger sister Luna, but, after initial academic and professional success, her ambitious departure has failed. Luna, who is looking to contact her ancestors and who has to arrange herself in the present with a tormented Umma and her expectations, tries to distance herself from her family.
It is hard to let go of one’s upbringing and experiences, and it becomes evident in the close relationship between Jae and Mizuki, whose open way of living challenges Jae’s sense of responsibility. Patty Kim Hamilton seamlessly ties up loose ends and incorporates absences into her...