Miracle in Cell No.

Film Analysis

Maan Methusalem A. Dinglasa

October 29, 2018

 The film Miracle in Cell no. 7 is a 2013 South Korean movie directed by Lee Hwan

Kyung starring Ryu Seung-ryong as Lee Yong-goo, Kal So-won as Ye-Sung (Child) and Park

Shin-Hye as Ye-Sung (Adult). It is a story about a mentally ill single father, Yong-goo and his

lovely daughter, Ye-Sung

It all started when the main character, Yong-goo and Ye-Sung visited a storefront with a

Sailor Moon backpack on display and Yong-goo was desperately wanting to purchase it for Ye-

Sung ‘s first day of school. However, the last bag was purchase by the Chief Commissioner of

the National Police Agency for his daughter.

There was a time where the Chief Commissioner’s daughter Ji-Young approached Yong-

goo and told him that there’s another store that sells the same backpack. He followed the little

girl and shortly after, hears a sudden and short scream. He ends up finding the girl lying in the

street with a head wound, and doesn’t understand enough to know that she’s dead. He tried to

revive the girl by applying CPR technique when suddenly a woman wrongly witnessed his action

and accused him for the rape-murder of the Chief Commissioner’s daughter, Ji-Young. He was

then incarcerated by the big house and sent to Cell No. 7, the harshest cell in a maximum

security person.

This movie takes place in two time periods. There’s the modern storyline, where Ye-

Sung is all grown-up and works as a lawyer to clear her father’s false accusation and the

flashback to 1997, the year that her father was accused and imprisoned in Cell No. 7. It was
there that Yong-goo met his cellmates who at first scorned him for the crime he committed but

after he rescued the gang leader, Yang Ho, the cellmates slowly befriend him and believe that

he’s a good man who just happened to be in the wrong place at the same time. They became not

only his friends but also a family to him and his daughter after they devise a plan to sneak her in

the prison. They even helped Yong-Goo on what to say during his testimonial that would prove

his innocence before his appeal in court.

Jang Min-Hwan, the head prison warden eventually realize that Yong-goo is an innocent

young man and was incapable of even hurting a fly. He also takes custody of Ye-sung.

However, Yong-goo was blackmailed by the Chief Commissioner to lie by admitting his crime

or else Ye-Sung will be harmed. Thus, Yang-goo wanting to protect his daughter, admitted the

crime he was framed for and bravely faced death. In the present, Ye-Sung brought justice to her

father’s name by proving his innocence.

The word “miracle” in the movie title was used to describe the miracle, Ye-Sung and her

series of meeting with her father in prison.

The movie reflects the society. The film shows how poorly the mentally ill were treated.

It also shows how authority and power can do.

 This is really happening nowadays. Many people in the society easily judged and

often called names to those people with disability. In the world we live in today, there are people

who are blinded by the power they have and will use it as long as they can. They will use it to

gain more power or even use it against those who inferior to them.

What are the theme of the story?

The theme of the story are blind justice and genuine love.

Are all prisoners bad?

No. Not all prisoners are bad. Some are just falsely accused and others are incapable of

defending themselves just like what happen to the main character, Yong-goo.

How love affects people?

Love really affects people. People will do everything for love. I believe that people can

either be selfish or selfless when it comes to love. Yong-goo is the latter. He sacrificed his life
for her daughter’s safety. In the modern storyline, Ye-Sung did everything in order to prove her

father’s innocence.

Does miracle really exist?

Based on the film, yes. Ye-Sung and her series if meeting with her father described as a

miracle.

The first time I read the title of the film, it quickly got my interest. I had so many

questions playing in my mind such as why is it called Miracle in Cell no. 7, how will the so

called “miracle” happen etc.

This movie is indeed a heartwarming yet heartbreaking story for me. The film shows

the overwhelming love of a father for his daughter. It shows how far can Yong-goo, a mentally

handicapped father sacrificed for his daughter, Ye-Sung. Yong-goo was wrongly accused for the

rape-murder of the Chief Commissioner’s daughter and sent to the harshest in a maximum

security person, Cell no. 7.

I can say that all of us do not wish to be in a prison. It’s a place where criminals are

kept but in the movie, it’s where the miracle happens. They made the prison cell a bearable place
that even Ye-Sung can hide in it and stay with them. It also shows that not all prisoners are

totally bad and that they can be kind in their own ways.

This movie also displays how badly people with disability were treated. They are easily

judged by many. People like Mr. Lee Yong-goo couldn’t speak out for and even protect

themselves to those selfish people. I really cried especially when Yong-goo was psychologically

and mentally abuse by the Chief Commissioner. He was forced to claim that he was the one who

killed the Commissioner’s daughter, to protect his daughter and was sentenced to death.

There was no justice that happened that time while Ye-Sung was still a child. When

Ye-Sung became a lawyer, I really felt her love towards his father and how she wanted to prove

her father’s innocence and give justice to his death. So it brought me joy when she won the case.

I can relate to Ye-Sung in some ways. My father died late last year. I know how it feels

when you lose someone you really treasure. No matter what you do and how hard you cry, you

can’t do anything about it. You can’t bring them back. All you can do is just embrace and feel

the pain, and accept the fact that they are already gone.

This movie made me realize how people use authority and power to step on someone’s

else’s life and ruin their innocence and most importantly, I realize how powerful love is and how

it affects and changes people.

 Miracle in Cell No. 7 is about an intellectually impaired father who was imprisoned

and sentenced to death because of allegedly raping and murdering a girl.

Lee Yong-goo works as park man in an establishment. He has a pretty and smart

daughter named Ye-sung whom he raised alone. Ye-sung is big fan of Sailor moon and wants a

Sailor moon bag being sold in a store too badly that they always visit it twice a day just to check

if it’s still unsold. One day, they found out that the bag was bought by the Commissioner of the

Policemen for his daughter so Yong-goo went inside the store and beg the Commissioner not to

buy the bag because Ye-sung wants it badly but the Commissioner hit him.

One cold day, the Commissioner’s daughter saw him and told him that she saw

another store selling the same Sailor moon bag and asked her to follow him. Then, the alleged

murder and rape happened. A witness saw that he was kissing the girl and having the girl’s

zipper undone. Yong-goo was brought to the police, was questioned, forced to sign a sworn

statement, tortured and then sent to jail.

Yong-goo was assigned in Cell No. 7 where he made friends with co-prisoners and

eventually the chief. At first, he was not properly acquainted with his co-prisoners because his

co-prisoners defy and hate him for the crime that he allegedly done. But when he was stabbed by

another prisoner from another cell, the leader helped him and then they made friends with him.

When he was asked what he wanted, he said “Ye-sung” so when there was a religious service

where Ye-Sung’s choir will be singing, one of his co-prisoners get her and bring her to Yong-

goo.
 Ye-sung did not only make his father happy by staying at the prison cell but she also

changed the lives and beliefs of his father’s co-prisoners. She gave life to Cell No. 7. After days

of staying, the Chief found out about her and sent her out of the cell resulting to Yong-goo’s

detention in a dark dungeon. While being tied up and detained in a dark dungeon, a fire

happened resulting to his injury for saving the chief.

From that time on, the chief allowed Ye-Sung’s stay in the prison cell and even

investigated Yong-goo’s case and found out that Yong-goo is actually innocent by digging into

his records and finding out that he was forced sign a fabricated sworn statement. He believed that

the sworn statement. His co-prisoners also believed that Yong-goo is innocent so they analyzed

what really happened. His co-prisoners found out that what happened was an accident.

During that cold day when the streets were slippery and some parts of it were icy, the

Commissioner’s daughter, while running, slipped in an icy part of the street and her head was hit

by a brick which caused her death. When the witness saw them, Yong-goo was actually reviving

the girl by doing a cardio respiratory resuscitation and losing her pants so that she could breathe.

When the day of the final trial came, Yong-gu was more than prepared to defend himself

and tell what really happened but while waiting for the start of the trial, the Commissioner talked

to him and told him that he must die for Ye-sung to live. So during the trial, he admitted the
crime that he did not committed and he was sentenced to death on the 23rd of December which

was actually Ye-Sung’s birthday.

On the day of the Christmas program and days before his death sentence, his co-prisoners

devised a way for him to escape. They made an air balloon. After the Ye-Sung’s choir

presentation, they went to the air balloon and flew but unfortunately the rope of the balloon got

struck in a barb wire.

On the day of Ye-Sung’s birthday and his death sentence at the same time, the prisoners

of Cell No. 7 celebrated her birthday and gave Ye-sung birthday presents. Yong-goo gave her the

Sailor moon bag. After the birthday and farewell meal, the Chief and Ye-sung accompanied

Yong-goo to the place where the death sentence will be executed. Yong-goo told Ye-sung that he

will go to a better place, and after a heartbreaking goodbye, they parted ways and never saw each

other again.

The story started and ended in mock trial scene wherein Ye-sung was the lawyer of the

defense, retrying the case of Lee Yong-goo. Inside the court and stood as witnesses were Yong-

goo’s co-prisoners who had different lives after their life in prison and the Chief who took care

of Ye-sung when his father died. Ye-sung was able to convince the judge that his father was

innocent and that what happened was purely an accident.

 The movie revolves in a theme which tackles a father’s unconditional love to his daughter.

Yong-goo is willing to do everything for his daughter despite of his mental deficiency. Ye-sung,

in return, loves his father so much and understands well when she cannot get what she wants.

Truly, a father and a child are inseparable and nothing compares to a parent’s love to his/her

child. It is the best gift that a person receives from the time of the child’s conception, to his/her

birth and up to his/her death. A son or a daughter always have it and cannot be taken away from

him/her.

Furthermore, the movie shows a concrete example of injustice and delves more on the rights

of the accused. Yong-goo was undoubtedly an innocent man and an intellectually impaired

person. Even accused, it is always a well-settled rule that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

Yong-goo was tortured and his sworn statement was fabricated. He was deprived equal

protection of the laws. He experienced torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation which vitiated

his free will. He was abused and his mental deficiency was used against him. The State has

protection for mentally-challenged persons but it was not given to him. Once the accused has

mental incapacities, he should not be tried nor be convicted.

 One of the theme in this movie is blind justice because of the false accusation that was

given by Yong-goo. The second theme is genuine love because it was clearly shown the strong

bond of the father and daughter in the film.

I can compare Miracle Cell No. 7 to the movie Miracles from heaven. Both movie talks

about miracles. Both shows the unconditional love of a parent towards his/her child. Miracles

from heaven displays how Kevin and Christy, parents of Annabel who has an incurable disease

do everything like finding the best doctors in order for their child to get rid of the certain disease

while Miracles in Cell No. 7 shows the sacrifices done by the mentally challenged father, Yong-

goo to protect his daughter Ye-Sung. Miracles from heaven is based on true life events. On the

other hand, Miracle in Cell No. 7 is based on a true story of a South Korean man who served 15

years in prison under false accusations.

As a conclusion, Miracle in Cell No. 7 is a good movie. The director Lee Hwan Kyung

did a great job in delivering the theme to the viewers and also the actors and actresses portrayed

their character well. It served as an eye-opener for the viewers to value the simplicity of life, the

importance of family and most of all, significance of true justice and facing your fears.