[♪♪♪]
[DOOR CLOSES, LOCK CLICKS]
[FOOTSTEPS]
[RATTLING]
[KNOB RATTLING]
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
[YOUNG AMANDA SOBBING]
YOUNG AMANDA [IN KOREAN]:
[DOOR OPENS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
SOO-HYUN:
UMMA [IN KOREAN]:
[ELECTRICITY BUZZING]
[YOUNG AMANDA SCREAMS, SOBBING]
[BIRD TRILLING OUTSIDE]
[CREAKING]
[BABY CRYING]
[♪♪♪]
AMANDA: One, two, three.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
What do you wanna call her?
Zizi.
Zizi, okay.Mm-hm.
Okay, one, two, three, Zizi.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
Hi, Zizi.
She's so cute.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[BUZZING]
Yuck, you know that grosses me out.
What? This?
Mom.[LAUGHS]
Oh! Ew!
No, I'm not done.
You're such a slow reader.
Did you get to the part where--?Shh.
[SUCKS TEETH][CHUCKLES]
Mmm...
[THUNDER CRASHING]
[THUNDER CRASHING][AMANDA GASPING]
[AMANDA SOBS, SNIFFLES]
Mom?
[THUNDER CRASHES][GASPING]
[CRYING SOFTLY, SNIFFLING]
Hey.
[MUTTERING INDISTINCTLY]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
The lightning is too far away.
It can't hurt you.
[HUMMING TUNE]
[ROOSTER CROWING]
ANNOUNCER [ON RADIO]: Second down nine, from their own 35.
[♪♪♪]
The score--[RADIO SHUTS OFF]
BOTH: Boo!
[BOTH LAUGH]
Hey, here's for your fluffy little friends.
Sweet.
AMANDA: Here are our last quarter's statements.
Wait till you see this quarter.
Remember how I've been trying to sell your honey online?
Remember how I thought it was a waste of time?
Vividly. But maybe it wasn't such a waste of time after all.
Can barely keep up with orders. Keep selling out.
But... How?
Apparently some lifestyle influencer
posted about your honey,
and it kind of went viral.
I don't know what any of that means.
To be honest, Amanda, I don't think I do either.
My niece tried to explain it to me, but...
What I do know is I can sell every drop of this you make.
And more.
[CHUCKLES][LAUGHS]
Hey, want some juice?Oh, yes, please.
What is this?
We need more colonies.
Danny says our honey keeps selling out on the Internet.
But that's a lot more work.
Yeah, but this is what we do, right?
It's nothing the two of us can't handle together.
Thank you.
Actually, Mom, I was thinking maybe--
Take that to Danny after breakfast, would you?
[♪♪♪]
[HORN HONKS]
[HONKING]
Excuse me. Hello.
[SPEAKS IN KOREAN]
Excuse me?
[MUTTERING IN KOREAN]
I don't understand you.
[IN ENGLISH] Oh. Thank you. Thank you.
Stop.
Stop. Don't come any closer.
Shut the car off. Turn it off.
[IN KOREAN]
Who are you?
[IN KOREAN]
[♪♪♪]
[TUTS]
[SIGHS]
[LIGHT SWITCH CLICKS]
[♪♪♪]
[SLURPS]
[SIGHS]
UMMA [IN KOREAN]:
KANG:
[IN ENGLISH] Get out of my house.
[SIGHS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
BOY: There she is.
[ALL CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY, LAUGHING]
Hey, Danny.
Hey, I was just thinking about you.
Come here. There's a waiting list to buy your honey.
Cool, right? Yeah.
Cool.
Okay.
She building more hives?
Great. I may have to order some of this stuff.
Let me check stock and see what we have.
River, will you watch the counter for a second?
Why? You think she's gonna rob the place?
DANNY: This is my niece,
who will be staying with me a few weeks
while her folks are out of town.
River, this is Chris.Hey.
Hey.
I like your makeup.
Thanks.
I really like your freckles.
Wish I had them.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[♪♪♪]
[CLATTERING]
[♪♪♪]
[DOOR OPENS]CHRIS: Mom?
No. Don't touch that.
Why?
Where'd it come from?
Wait.
Was someone here earlier?
What's on your face?
[AMANDA WALKS UP STAIRS]
[♪♪♪]
[GROANS][GASPS]
[LATCHES CLICK]
[WINDOW RATTLES][GASPS]
[DOOR SLAMS]
Chris?
[RATTLING]
CHRIS [SCREAMS]: Mommy!
Chrissy?
I'm coming.
Chris, I'm coming.
CHRIS: Mom?
Chrissy.[CHRIS SCREAMS]
Chrissy.[CHRIS SOBBING]
Chrissy, where are you?
Mommy!Oh, God.
Honey, answer me.[CHRIS SOBBING]
Mommy!
[CHRIS SCREAMS]
Chris?Help!
[SOBBING, SCREAMING STOP]
[MUSIC BOX PLAYING TUNE]
UMMA [SOFTLY, IN KOREAN]:
[GASPS]
[CHICK CHIRPING]
Come here.
[SCREAMS]Soo-Hyun.
[GASPING]
Mom. [PANTING]
Were you having a nightmare?
[SOFTLY] Yeah.
[♪♪♪]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[CLUCKING]
[DOOR OPENS]
Hey.
Are you okay?
You're just acting kind of weird.
Where did this come from?
Chrissy, I asked you a question.
It was Danny.
He gave it to me.
Danny? Why?
Because he's my friend.
He's not your friend. I do his books.
I pay him to help us.
He's your friend too, Mom.
He's our only friend.
So you wanna go to college?
No.
No?
[BUZZING]
[YOUNG AMANDA CRYING, ECHOING]
[YOUNG AMANDA SOBBING, SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[DOOR RATTLING]
[UMMA SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[DOOR CONTINUES RATTLING] [YOUNG AMANDA WAILING]
[ELECTRICITY BUZZING] [YOUNG AMANDA SCREAMING]
[BUZZING INTENSIFIES, GLASS RATTLING]
Oh, nice haul.
That'll make some of your customers real happy.
Wha...?
What's up? Did I say something wrong?
Uh, you know,
I never, in a million years,
thought I would be a beekeeper.
I mean, I'm-- I'm an accountant.
What did I know about making honey?
But more than that,
I hated bees.
I hated the sound they made.
The constant buzzing that just crawls under your skin.
But then one day,
Chrissy came home with a book about beekeeping
and became obsessed with the idea.
She wanted to start a hive so badly.
She even asked me to help her convince you.
I was nervous at first, but...
Chrissy...
was fearless.
Yeah.Surrounded by all those bees.
But it made her so happy.
And that made me happy.
It made me feel like I was a good mother.
So we kept adding more hives.
It was something we were always supposed to do together.
So I was really surprised
when I found the college application that you gave her.
Oh, look, I-I gave her that application,
but that's because she asked me for it.
You probably think this is not any of my business,
but don't you think going to college could be good for her?
You know, make some friends,
learn to live life on her own a little?
I'm sorry. You didn't really expect
she was gonna stay here forever, did you?
[♪♪♪]
[TICKING]
YOUNG AMANDA [IN ENGLISH]: No. No.
UMMA:
YOUNG AMANDA: I hate you. I wish you were dead.
UMMA:
[♪♪♪]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]DANNY: You didn't really expect
that she was gonna stay here forever, did you?
[♪♪♪]
[RUSTLING]
[♪♪♪]
[BREATHING DEEPLY]
[GASPS]
[SOFTLY] Chris.
Chris?
[BEES BUZZING]
UMMA:
[HEART BEATING]
[GASPING]
Chrissy?
Why are you wearing that?
I'm sorry, Mommy. I was just trying it on.
I found it up here.
Take it off.Why?
Take it off. Why?
[DESCENDING STAIRS]
[ELECTRICITY BUZZING][YOUNG AMANDA SCREAMS]
[SIGHS]
What's going on?
You've been acting...
I'm just worried about you.
[SOFTLY] I'm fine.
What's in the suitcase?
[SLAPS TABLE]I said, I'm fine.
[♪♪♪]
[HEART BEATING]
[♪♪♪]
[ROPE CREAKING]
[GASPS]
[HEART BEATING]
[DEEP VOICE] Disobedient little girl.
[GASPS]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
[GASPS]
[SCREAMS]
[POUNDING]YOUNG AMANDA: Mom.
Let me out, please.
[IN KOREAN]
[POUNDING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[KNOCKING]
CHRIS: Mommy, let me out.
Chris?Mommy?
Chris?
It's too heavy.[GRUNTS]
Chrissy.[SHUDDERING]
What were you doing down there?
Are you okay?
Who is this woman?
Tell me who she is.
Fine.
Don't talk to me.
But when I'm gone, you'll have no one left
to keep your secrets from.
Chris.
Someone did come to our house the other day.
With a suitcase.
That man was my uncle.
He came here from Korea to tell me my mother died.
Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Bill aren't my real parents.
I made them up.
I was raised by my mother.
My real mother.
CHRIS: What's inside?
My mother's remains.
And her most cherished possessions.
[LATCHES CLICK]
[♪♪♪]
Is this her?
Your mom?
[SOFTLY] That's my umma.
Umma.
I never thought I'd be in the same room with her again.
What else have you been lying to me about?
No, Chrissy, I...
What do you wanna know?
Was this hers?
It's called a hanbok.
She made it herself.
She was very proud of her work.
She hoped to pass it down to me.
What's this?
That's a tal.
It's a family heirloom.
It's been worn by the women in our family for generations.
Why is all this stuff in here?
She always said she'd take
her favorite things with her to the afterlife.
She probably left them for her ceremony.
What kind of ceremony?
Well, some Koreans believe that life's hardships
are caused by the tormented spirits of their ancestors,
so they make offerings to appease their tortured souls.
Is that what you believe?
I don't believe in superstition.
There's something else in here.
[♪♪♪]
What is it?
[YOUNG AMANDA SOBBING]
Mom?
What's wrong?
[♪♪♪]
UMMA:
[YOUNG AMANDA CRYING]
YOUNG AMANDA [IN KOREAN]:
UMMA:
Good morning.[CHICKENS CLUCKING]
[NOISE IN DISTANCE]
[♪♪♪]
Hey. Hi.
Oh, here.No, no, hey, I got it.
It's what you pay me for.
Um, is your niece still here?
I was thinking about having a game night with Chris,
if you guys wanted to join.
I thought it would be good for her.
Great.
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
Do you want me to do your hair?
[AMANDA HUMMING TUNE]
[♪♪♪]
[SQUELCHING]
Ow!
Not so hard.
[WHISPERS] Sorry.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
Oh!
[DANNY CHUCKLES]
Sorry.[CHUCKLES]
AMANDA: Ten. Yellow ten. Yellow ten, yellow ten, yellow ten.
Isn't there like a time limit on each hand?
[SNICKERS] Oh, oh, oh.
I think I got it. Uh... Uh-huh.
Ah-ah, Rummikub.
DANNY: Rummikub.AMANDA: Yeah...
Do you wanna go hang out upstairs?
DANNY: Is it?
Yes.AMANDA: Really?
You don't wanna play another round?
No. No, it's okay.
Thank you.
Okay.
Cool spot.
Is that a college application?
Yeah.
I didn't even know you could apply on paper.
Your life is so retro.
Do you even have a phone?
No.
So how do you talk to your friends?
Well, my mom is my friend.
But I totally have other friends.
[CHUCKLES]
So you pinch the X in the middle,
then you go under to go over, and then pull it out.
Nice. Take it out.
Good job. [CHUCKLES]
Like this.
Pinch this. Then this.
I talked about you with those kids that hang out at the store.
You what?
Just think it's so funny.
I mean, how lame can you get?
They literally have nothing better to do
than gossip about why you live like this.
It's pathetic.
[CELL PHONE BUZZING]
[PHONE CLICKS ON]Is that your phone?
Yeah.
Danny didn't tell you to leave it in the car?
He did, but--You have to turn it off.
My mom can't be near electricity.
What? Why not?
She'll get really sick.
Okay. Um...
I had my phone with me this whole time,
and your mom seemed fine.
What happens when she gets sick?
Shit, I haven't had a beer since...
Since before Chris.
Really?[CHUCKLES] It's not like...
You know, it's not like Chris can be my drinking buddy.
[CHUCKLES]
[KNEE CRACKING]
Whoa. Is that you?
Yeah, my damn knee has been killing me lately.
Mm. Oh, God.
I can hear myself turning into my mother.
[♪♪♪]
[THUNDER RUMBLING IN DISTANCE]
[HEART BEATING]
UMMA:
Amanda, you okay?
I think...
[WHISPERS] I think there's something wrong.
Chris is such a good kid, you know.
Just talk to her.
I didn't want you to know her.
My father said she was so radiant,
and so fun,
when they first got married in Korea.
And then they came to America.
The land of the... The free.
The land of opportunities.
I think we were happy.
He was completely enamored with this place.
But my mom...
she struggled.
Everything here felt foreign to her.
She was scared all the time.
She stopped leaving the house.
She changed.
I remember so much screaming.
I think my dad couldn't take it anymore.
And after he left, I was all she had.
So I had to do it all.
I had to take it all.
All her rage.
Her spite.
And her...
[YOUNG AMANDA SOBBING]
[♪♪♪]
The moment I got pregnant, I made myself a promise.
I made you a promise.
I will never become my mother.
[HEART BEATING]
UMMA:
[♪♪♪]
[HEART BEATING]
UMMA:
[HEART BEATING RAPIDLY]
[SCREAMS]
[CONTINUES STRIKING PIANO KEYS]
[GRUNTS][BEES BUZZING]
[♪♪♪]
Why would you do this?
Do what?
This.
It's ruined.
I'll have to do it again.
I didn't do that.
Well, if you didn't do it, then who did?
[♪♪♪]
Mom.
She's here.
What?She's the one
who did this to your application.
Who?
[WHISPERS] Umma.
She thinks you're running away from us.
There's no point in talking to you
if you're gonna act like this.
Act like what?
Like a psycho bitch.
Hey.
What did you call me?
I called you a crazy psycho.
And you know what?
I can't wait to leave.
Leave?
Oh, honey, you're not going anywhere.
You can't force me to stay.
I don't have to.
Sweetie, sweetie.
You can't even make friends.
You're too scared.
I'm the one who had to invite River to game night for you.
Why are you acting like this?
I'm your mother.
I'm the only one who is gonna tell you the truth.
And the truth is...
you can't do it.
Fine, leave. Are you forgetting what happened
the last time you tried to go to school?
The time before that? Or the time before that?
Are you forgetting how you'd run home crying every day?
"Mommy, nobody wants to play with me.
Mommy, they call me names."Shut up.
You begged me to homeschool you, didn't you?
You pleaded with me.
So, what did I do? I homeschooled you.
You wanted friends? I was your friend.
You wanted to build a bee colony?
I built you one with my own hands.
Everything I have done since the day you were born
has been for you. To make you happy.
To give you a home.
A good home. A safe home.
All of this is for you.
You think all of this is for me?
Do you mean living like this?
Cut off from the rest of the world, like total freaks?
You're delusional. You're just hiding something.
It doesn't really hurt you, does it?
The electricity.
What?
Your sickness.
It's not real.
Yes, it is.
Just because you can't see it--It's not.
It's just a made-up thing.
Some demented, imaginary thing in your head.
And it's fucking pathetic.
You said you'd never become your mother.
But that's just another lie.
Chris.
Chris, where are you going?
Chris?
Chris, don't leave.
Chris.
Oh.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
DANNY: Chris.
Did you know it wasn't real?
Her sickness?
The electricity?
Did you know?
It's real to her.
Why didn't you say anything?
I did. I tried so many times to get her to see someone.
But she refused to go. She kept insisting--
No, why didn't you say anything to me?
I don't...
I don't know. I thought you knew.
Of course I didn't know.
If I knew, I would have done something about it.
Wait, let me drive you home.
[♪♪♪]
Is this what you want?
A final resting place?
Now leave me alone.
UMMA:
[SCREAMING]
[GRUNTS] Let me go!
[GASPING, COUGHS]
[♪♪♪]
[SCREAMS]
[GASPING]
[BODY THUDS]
[RUSTLING]
[HORN HONKING]
Go away.
Want a ride?
I got you something.
It's a little going-away present.
Well, technically I'm the one leaving,
so I guess just a present, but anyway...
What is this?
It's a planner for school.
You can put your class assignments in it, schedule...
parties.
Most people just use the calendar app,
but, you know, I figure you're not most people.
You are going, right?
You have to go.
I don't have to do anything.
I mean, true, but...
you should.
Okay.
Look, I know you think people think you're weird,
and I'm not gonna lie, you are.
But, no, you think being weird is a bad thing.
You think you're the only one. But you know what? You're not.
There are tons of other weirdos out there.
Cool, interesting people like you.
You just have to go out into the world and find them.
Don't you wanna know what it's like?
What you're like somewhere else?
[♪♪♪]
[HEART BEATING]
UMMA:
Bye. Good luck.
[♪♪♪]
[SIGHS]
Mom?
Are you here?
Hello?
[♪♪♪]
Umma?
[AMANDA HUMMING MUSIC BOX TUNE]
[WIND WHISTLING]
Mom?
[STOPS HUMMING]
Time to pay our respects.
[♪♪♪]
What is all this?
This is a jesa.
This is what we do to honor our ancestors.
To be with them, so they're not alone in the afterlife.
Get down on your knees and pay your respects.
Why?
You said you don't believe in this stuff.
[SQUELCHING]
Do it. No.
You stubborn, disrespectful little girl.
You remind me so much of your mother.
She tried to run away too.
Away from the home I gave her.
Do you know what I had to do when she disobeyed me?
I had to lock her in a closet
so she could think about all the ways she hurt me.
YOUNG AMANDA: Umma. Umma.
[YOUNG AMANDA SCREAMS]
Mommy, you're scaring me.
She was scared too,
because she couldn't see how much it hurt me
every time she ran away.
I needed her to believe me.
[CRACKLING]She needed to understand
my pain was real.
We had an old lamp. My favorite lamp.
With a broken wire.
[BUZZING]
[YOUNG AMANDA SCREAMS]
[DISTORTED] So I made her hold it,
until my pain became hers,
and we could feel it together.
But she never learned her lesson.
You can never escape.
[♪♪♪]
[GASPS, SCREAMS]
[GASPING]
[SHUDDERING]
[SQUELCHING]
[GROWLING]
[SNARLS]
[SCREECHES]
AMANDA: Chrissy.
Help me.
[GASPS, THEN GRUNTING]
UMMA:
Get off of me.
Mommy, it's me.
Look at me.
You sang me back to sleep
every time I had nightmares.
It's true.
You taught me to ride a bike,
even though you didn't know how.
I didn't mean what I said.
You are not her.
AMANDA: Chris?
[GRUNTS]
[GASPING]
Get off. Get off.
God. Oh, God. Oh, God.
Mommy? Chris?
Oh, God.
I'm so sorry, Chris.
I'm sorry.
I almost did to you what she did to me.
Listen to me.
I had no idea what you went through.
I wish I knew.
[CRYING]
Okay. Okay, we need to go.
[SCREAMS]
Mommy.
Chris.Mommy.
Chris.
Run!No!
[SCREAMS]
[ELECTRICITY BUZZING]
AMANDA [IN KOREAN]:
Umma.
[UMMA HUMMING TUNE]
[MUSIC BOX PLAYING TUNE]
[SOBS]
YOUNG AMANDA [IN KOREAN]:
[SOBBING]
UMMA:
[HEART BEATING]
[♪♪♪]
[IN ENGLISH] No.[THUNDER CRASHING]
Umma.
[HEARTBEAT STOPS]
[♪♪♪]
[GASPING]
[PANTING]
[CLUCKING]
Ready?Mm-hm.
[♪♪♪]
AMANDA: I hope your soul finds peace, Umma.
[PHONE CHIMES]Oh.
I wish this thing had pockets.
He's on his way.Oh.
How much did you pack?[CHUCKLES]
All right, college girl.
You ready?Mm-hm.
We'll call you when we get there, Amanda.
[♪♪♪]
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[CHUCKLES, THEN SNIFFLES]
[SIGHS]
[ENGINE STARTS, THEN TRUCK DRIVING AWAY]
[♪♪♪]
[UMMA GROANING SOFTLY, BREATHING HEAVILY]
[LATCHES CLICK]
[♪♪♪]
[MUSIC BOX PLAYING]
[♪♪♪]