Inbox: 호우시절

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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I really appreciated A Good Rain Knows when I watched it in May and so it should come as no surprise that, upon finding the DVD on sale, I would purchase it straight away.

Even now, many of its beautiful and captivating scenes stay etched well into my memory and some of the dialogue, in heavily accented English as it is, finds ways to replay in my mind. This film is responsible for creating an interest in me for Chinese poetry (and consequently, an interest in Chinese languages) as well as a desire to some day visit Chengdu, the city pictured in the film.

I have to say that a film that can create such interests in me is certainly worth owning and now that worth has been met.

Progress Report: 케세라세라, Episodes 10-13

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials I view them.

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After the intensity of episode nine, I wasn't sure where the series was going to go next, but what I didn't predict was that it would actually get better from there. I think part of my resistance to the series was that character development in the first eight episodes was pretty slow, but also the plot lines were fully of more childish dramatic angst.

Starting in episode ten, the various characters develop in interesting ways. Before any of that happens though, a huge, but possibly too brief reversal of the story as it was proceeding happens at the beginning of episode ten, but while it's pleasant to watch for those whose hearts are set on seeing relationships succeed, being only halfway through the drama, you know that such an idyllic peace won't last. Interestingly enough, a decision is made by Taejoo, fueled by lack of self-confidence, but also by some degree of altruism (on top of the crazy antics of episode nine) that sets all sorts of development in motion.

Ultimately, the original couplings are restored from their detour, but all the players have changed and the series takes on a more serious tone and the motivations of the different characters are different--possibly more mature, but also just driven by different wants and needs. We see Taejoo grow partially as a person, but that partial growth leads to a major decision that has serious repercussions on Eunsoo. Eunsoo, reacting to and learning from Taejoo makes some decisions that reflect his and show development in her character, even if it's not positive; she becomes less of the nearly unbelievably naive country girl that we first meet her as, even as she seems to be driven by a mix of emotions that selectively power only certain parts of her rational thought process.

Interestingly enough, the result of all this development is that characters are much easier to bear, for me as a viewer, since Herin and Taejoo, the most childishly selfish characters have really changed. Herin is now kind of reasonable peacemaker since she essentially thinks she's getting what she wants. Taejoo stops being the childishly needling annoyance to Eunsoo and appears to become a lot more honest with himself, which results in me no longer having any desire to throw things at my screen.

By the end of the thirteenth episode, these developments come to a head and leave the series at almost chilling juncture. This is not a series of easy fixes or basic emotional struggles like many romantic comedies, but it's about learning about ourselves and others, accepting ourselves and others and knowing that the decisions we make impact others--and how we react to others decisions are important too. These characters are quite dynamic (although I still don't entirely think Herin's major turn in episode nine was justified) and consequently possibly more emotionally real than much of what's on television. I look forward to the final four.

Links:

• Watch for free at Crunchyroll and Drama Fever

Inbox: 국가대표

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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Take Off is another film in a string of Korean sports films focusing on minor sports where the country has found some, even if limited, success. In some ways, this film has the most in common with Cool Runnings, both in being inspired by a true story about underdogs learning and competing in a Winter Olympic sport that they are unfamiliar with. And while the sport of ski jumping (including some fun photography of it) does play a role in the film, like many of these sports films, it's really more of a simplistic, but when well done, engaging character piece that is driven by the sport.

The Korean national ski jump team is gathered by a down-on-his luck Coach Bang (Song Dongil) (also new to the sport, hired by the Korean Olympic committee) from a bunch of ragtag misfits. The first recruit is Bob James, also known as Cha Huntae (Ha Jungwoo), a Korean American adoptee and former competitive ski jumper who is searching for his birth mother. While he harbors resentment against the country that he believes abandoned him, he believes that winning a medal on the national team might enable him to better find his birth mother. Also involved is a ex-pain medicine junkie Hungchul (Kim Dongwook) who has a thing for the coach's con artist daughter Suyeon (Lee Eunsung), Chilgoo (Kim Jisuk), who is stuck taking care of a senile grandmother and his mentally handicapped brother Bonggoo (Lee Jaeeung), who becomes a team mascot and official reservist, and finally a young man who's ruthlessly pushed around by his father, Jaebok (Choi Jaehwan). We then have the standard set of training montages, set backs due to personal issues, problems keeping the team together and in-team hostility and finally a series of attempts at competition culminating at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

This film is pretty by-the-books as far as sports movies go, hitting all the right populist notes, touching on enough personal melodrama with the characters while injecting the film with enough comedy as to be fun, but not ridiculous. While the characters are thin, the film maximizes their potential by making sure to play out all the elements of each character and adding in enough drama from outside sources to keep viewers concerned about the fate of the team. And the film does well to make the different characters mostly likable, so it works well. As such, while this might be your typical underdog sports movie, it's your typical underdog sports movie that's done very well and so it remains a pretty fun watch, but simple as it is, it lacks some of the more interesting themes that at least show up as undercurrents in other sports films (political, racial, social commentary) and consequently aspires only to entertain in a mostly engaging, even if not entirely memorable manner.

Like many high profile Korean films, Take Off looks great and some of the ski jump photography is quite thrilling to watch, although a couple of the high speed "photography" rings just a touch hollow and possibly computer generated, but the jump photography is pretty fun to watch and the film doesn't neglect to build a pretty picture in its pre-competition photography being well lit and colorful, set against a rural Korean backdrop. Acting is also solid for the most part, with each player contributing well. The only part, which always comes up in most national cinemas that bring in foreign characters, is the English language acting and writing is often poor. Although Ha is charismatic, I'd be hard pressed to find any fluent English speaker that would be able to accept his English as fluent and about half of the English speaking characters, including what seems like native English speakers, struggle with their acting (the exceptions being the ABC sportscasters during the Olympics who do an impressive job). Fortunately, if you can look past that, the film does well, also incorporating a fun soundtrack with ear-catching, but still relevant pop songs and otherwise good scoring.

Take Off certainly may not be a gold standard or even silver medal winner in the world of sports movies, but like the ski jump team drawn in the film, it at least aspires to do what it can to entertain with what it has and actually manages to do everything that it sets out to do, striking a good balance between comedy, drama and sports. It has a mostly engaging storyline that somehow doesn't seem as long as the 2.5 hour runtime and while the characters aren't deep, they are well acted and fulfill their potential in the story. The English language acting is predictably weak, but no weaker or less believable than the standard for foreign language use in film, but that might certainly be distracting to native English language speakers. And when you tie up all of the films strengths together with a slick presentation and some pretty cool ski jump photography, you have a crowd pleaser, at least deserving of a bronze medal. 7/10.

Links:

• Additional Reviews: Modern Korean Cinema, Seen in Jeonju
• Available at YesAsia (Blu Ray) / (DVD)

Progress Report: 케세라세라, Episode 9

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials I view them.

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Wow.

Given that this episode went places that I did not expect and was quite shocking in context, it might prove to be one of the most memorable moments in television watching that I've experienced.

Everything in the first half of the show that has been building comes to a head here. In fact, it explodes. Interestingly enough, in this single episodes, maturity dynamics flip around and suddenly the least mature character, Hyerin, manages to outpace Taejoo (granted, that's not hard) leaving him as the odd man out. But, all that happens (and, it is quite a lot) also leaves Taejoo having to deal with his own self-deception and dishonesty and he ends up proving to be tremendously childish, especially at the beginning of the episode.

What follows in the second half of the episode are a number of potent scenes, with each scene topping the last. The second to final scene in the episode is an absolute head-spinner, just because it's so unexpected and, yet, believable considering Taejoo's immaturity and internal conflict and incapacity to express himself, especially in his relations with Eunsoo, except in a condescending manner. Of course, then what happens in the final scene is also headspinning considering the events of the previous scene, but it's not altogether unbelievable. While some might find that final moment impossible, the show has set up the various characters to be complex and full of contradictions and consequently, while there was a lot of wrongdoing going on, I don't think that it's a sign of forgiveness, but just a separate part of Eunsoo acting up. Strangely enough, I think that second-to-last scene is foreshadowed in an earlier episode between Taejoo and Eunsoo, but as not to spoil things, I won't say what scene.

I still find Hyerin to be a little impenetrable as a character and so I find it hard to believe that her attitude is changing towards Taejoo. It doesn't feel won, either by Taejoo nor by Hyerin and so I'm not entirely sold on it. And that's probably what I see as the biggest weakness in this otherwise now-quite-impressive series.

After this episode, while I can conjecture how the writers might write the next half of the series, I don't know where the show will go. But, I'm immensely curious and looking forward to the rest of the series.

Links:

• Watch for free at Crunchyroll and Drama Fever

Inbox: 반두비

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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Having appreciated writer-director Shin Dongil's Host & Guest and regretfully missed his second film (as a writer-director), I thought I'd catch the third film, Bandhobi, which like Host & Guest, centers in on a relationship formed between two strangers from different backgrounds. This time we have a hard-working Bangladeshi Muslim non-immigrant worker meeting a spunky young Korean malcontent. They don't have much in common, but end up bonding anyhow and what follows is a story about both the joys and difficulties of friendship across divides.

The two first meet when high-school student Minsuh (Baek Jinhee) notices that Karim (actor/filmmaker Alam Mahbub) leaves his wallet on her bus. She decides to take it for herself, needing money to pay for classes, but he catches her trying to steal it and takes it back. She manages to get out of him taking her to the police by first claiming that he's sexually harassing her and then, when he doesn't relent, by offering him a favor. Minsuh is an unhappy and somewhat self-righteous kid, stuck with a single mother who is seeing a man that she doesn't like, because he's unemployed and presumes to want to be her father. Karim is near the end of his rope, having traveled to Korea to take a backbreaking job so that he could send money back home to his wife, who is now threatening to leave him; what's worse, the man who first hired him, bankrupted his company and never paid him a year's worth of wages. So, Karim takes Minsuh's offer for a favor up and has her help him track down his ex-boss' home so that he can confront him. From there, a friendship develops between the two, tightly hugging romantic borders. Of course, Karim's visa is limited and he both needs money and to go back to Bangladesh...

For such a simple story, it all works surprisingly well. It's very clear that Minsuh finds someone she can confide in with Karim, who is outsider enough to provide a different perspective for her and even push her towards being more accepting of her mother and mother's boyfriend. Likewise, Karim, who is often stared at or treated rudely by many xenophobic and/or racist native Koreans finds comfort in Minsuh, who, while she's sometimes blunt and naive about racial and cultural issues, chooses to treat Karim like a person first. Some misunderstanding arising from differences in perspectives causes the two to fall out now and again, but it's clear that they care for each other as friends, quite possibly more than just friends, as much as it discomforts the religious (and married!) Karim. I like how the two characters challenge each other, Minsuh to be more accepting and open minded and Karim to be more open and daring. Furthermore, like in Host & Guest, there's a lot of social commentary tucked into the film, including the anti-rightist attitude of Minsuh and a couple other characters (which, given the audience's tie with the protagonist might seem to be the perspective of Shin as well) as well as the obvious commentary on Korean racism and injustice in migrant workers lives in Korea. Even yet there's also a possibly anti-American English teacher segment in the film, but that might just be a misunderstanding--the film isn't clear. And some of these politicizing moments might be kind of blunt for the otherwise careful examination of relationship in the film.

The film looks pretty good, even though it seems like a low budget film, but with natural lighting and on-location filming, the film still manages to capture some impressive pictures while seeming immediate and tangible. Of course, a film so based in character needs strong actors and Bandhobi has them in their leads. Mahbub's Korean is fluent, even if not native, and even though his character is reserved, Karim's emotional outbursts towards the end are believable and shows Mahbub's acting capacity. Baek, is a force herself, managing to capture a kind of zealousness and anger that's natural to watch and conveys her character's inner turmoil well, even just in her gait and body language. The one actor that was not convincing (and is a common problem in Korean film) was Minsuh's American English teacher, a minor character who was clearly played by a European, whose fluency in English does not sound natural and whose acting suffered as a result.

As such, I think Bandhobi has plenty to offer, even though a couple scenes involving Minsuh's attempt to get quick cash and what she learns from it, might be shocking, resulting in the 19+ rating of the film, but nothing is all that explicit, so I don't think it's too bad. The examination of their friendship and how it changes the two characters is believable and interesting and I like how realistic their flirtation with friendship to romance is. I do wish the film restrained itself from preachiness, especially as the messages sent seem mixed (foreigners mistreated! foreigners bad!), but the characters are well developed and complicated enough that it's possible just to read those moments as character quirks rather than Shin making Bandhobi his mouthpiece. Nonetheless, I think some of the glue in the story is missing, as while I believe their friendship and even some of the impact that Karim has on Minsuh, I think the film leaves the ending a little too vague as well as reverses character development at a critical point in the final act just enough for me to not fully buy Minsuh's behavior. But, it's still interesting to watch and largely enjoyable, despite my reservations. Definitely curious to see his second film now. 7/10.

Links:

• Feature website
• Additional Reviews: Koreanfilm.org
• Available at YesAsia

Progress Report: 케세라세라, Episodes 5-8

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials I view them.

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All right, looks like the show finally gets into the real conflict. Granted, this is still the same kind of stuff you see in other Korean drama, complete with the same archetypes. But, some swaps: Taejoo is the bad boy protagonist, but he's not rich. Joonhyuk is the secondary "good guy" character, but he's rich. And despite common archetypes being used, the show seems surprisingly grounded in the emotional realities of their characters. Furthermore, it no longer seems like there is an alpha/beta couple split, but each of the four main characters are really being invested into with only Taejoo getting a touch more treatment.

The story sets up pretty well the love quadrilateral at this point and while it never drops anvils on each character's problems, it does look pretty deeply at Taejoo's selfishness and manipulation as well as observing Eunsoo's fall from naiveté. We also start getting a into some of the backstory around Joonhyuk's near-adoption into Hyerin's family and I imagine that will become a major turning point for his character once it all becomes revealed. Hyerin herself is actually the least accessible character, in part because she doesn't open up to any of the other characters either--we only know that she still carries a torch for Joonhyuk, but her motivations for continuing her charade are still not obvious. Eunsoo's character is the most improved, of course, since she was the least complex to begin with and I really like that the show is really exploring how she deals with the breaking of her previously idyllic emotional/social world. Side players actually don't get much shine in this drama, mostly serving to move along a plot point or two or help fill in the world here and there, but it doesn't seem too much of a problem because the overall story remains pretty captivating.

There's a double parallel between the characters that was set up early on that I find interesting and perhaps drives some of the underlying drama: Taejoo and Eunsoo come from a similar socioeconomic place, being people who have to work for a living. Likewise, Hyerin and Joonhyuk also come from the same socioeconomic place, being raised in the world of the wealthy. On the other hand, emotionally, Taejoo and Hyerin are the most alike, being emotionally enclosed, manipulative and terribly proud. Likewise, Eunsoo and Joonhyuk are more temperamentally similar, both being more straightforward, sincere and seemingly more earnest.

A few more observations about the drama is that the production really looks different. It doesn't have that bright glossy lighting, instead choosing cooler more neutral tones, and the direction, despite being directed by Kim Yoonchul of My Lovely Samsoon, follows a more film-like route, including getting caught up in the handheld camera craze that hit Korean film in the mid-2000's. The soundtrack, being one of the reasons I looked at this drama, fortunately doesn't overuse the same four or five songs and, in fact, pulls in music from more than just what ended up on the disk, drawing heavily from Fluxus' talented pool, but also grabbing bits and pieces of music from other sources as well.

So far, this drama definitely grabbing me in a slow-burn kind of way and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Links:

• Watch for free at Crunchyroll and Drama Fever

Inbox: 용서받지 못안자

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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The Unforgiven is quite impressive for a film school graduate thesis. It seems to be a rather rare subject matter as far as Korean film is concerned as it's a drama focused on men who are serving their compulsory military service. Not men who are out fighting battles or men who are stationed somewhere, but these are young Korean men who are stationed in Korea, serving their service in the barracks and the picture is ultimately, neither flattering nor wholly critical either. But it is a rare glimpse into a previously cinematically unexplored aspect of military life for civilians.

The film is shown mostly in flashback and follows Lee Seungyoung (Seo Jangwon), during his first year of mandatory military service. It's clear from the start that Lee and his independent-thinking streak does not mesh will with the "your superior is always right, even if they are wrong" power structure and things look grim until he discovers that his sergeant, Yoo Taejung (Ha Jungwoo) also happens to be a childhood buddy of his and tries to make things easier for him at least some of the time. Lee eventually finds himself charged with a new soldier, Hur Jihoon (the director, Yoon Jongbin), whose lack of focus and competence threatens even Lee's own tenuous standing with his squad. Meanwhile, in the present, Lee seeks out the since discharged Yoo for some drinks, as Yoo is trying to spend some time with his girlfriend. Lee seems to have something on his mind that he wants to speak to Yoo about, but is having difficulties spitting it out.

While the story is kind of predictable (including where the two parallel timelines are going to collide), I think its strength is in its characterizations and the tension in the military that obviously impacts the different characters in different ways. We know that the military life has broken down Yoo's ideals and he half shields Lee from the worst of it, but realizes he has to expose Lee to some of it in order for Lee to be able to survive after he gets discharged. Likewise, we watch as the independent and almost rebellious Lee eventually learns to adapt to kowtowing to the higher ranked soldiers (in his own way) in order to make things easier and then start repeat the cycle of abuse on his junior. We also get to see the impact of Korean masculinity combined with military experience has on Yoo as his behavior towards his girlfriend often seems more C/O than boyfriend and she clearly doesn't always understand this (not saying that she should though). And it's that exploration of how both masculinity and hierarchal thinking transmits itself which is fascinating to watch. Still, at the end, the film gets a little too melodramatic and undoes some of the potency it gained from the scenes before. I also feel the film runs a little slow at times and unnecessarily repeats themes and motifs which are well ingrained into the story.

The film is obviously shot on a shoe-string budget, with (comparatively) shoddy equipment and what looks like limited amounts of shooting. However, the acting is really strong and helps carry the film even through its low value look. The director actually managed to gain permission to shoot inside a real barrack, so that was some great detail there, even though I doubt that the Korean military would see this film and approve of what it saw as it's certainly less than complimentary. Finally, the film is very sparse on music, except at the beginning, the end, and the music that Lee listens to in the few moments where he can. The score choices at the title and end credits are easily recognizable classical pieces and feel overused, so I feel like they detract from the film. Personally, I would've preferred some careful foley or sound design to fill in the credits.

Overall, I think that The Unforgiven is a strong film, even with is low production values and sometimes overlong story, if just for its willingness to directly confront masculinity and enforced social hierarchy as well as expose some of what happens in the military and its effect on the soldiers. However, I also recognize that not everyone who's watching it might get as much out of it, although, since as a civilian, I still understood most of it, I won't say it's not possible, but I imagine those that don't have a understanding of masculine silence would be very frustrated by the storyline set in the present. Heck, even understanding it, I found it frustrating. Still, an interesting and ultimately worthwhile and different look into life as a military man. 7/10.

Links:

• Additional Reviews: Koreanfilm.org
• Available at YesAsia

Progress Report: 케세라세라, Episodes 1-4

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials I view them.

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Looking for something different than a romantic comedy, which I'd seen too much of as it was represented by the last two Korean dramas that I watched, I thought I'd check out something different and started watching the historical drama Iljimae, but the streaming video kept freaking out on me, so I switched gears and, influenced by having purchased the soundtrack, decided to check out a low profile melodrama called Que Sera Sera.

So far, I've watched the first four episodes and it has the classic four character (two men, two women) set up, following standard archetypes, while I think it's all being twisted and tweaked a little. We have the closest thing to a protagonist in Kang Taejoo (Eric Moon), a kind of middle-class player, who dates a lot of rich girls. He encounters Han Eunsoo (Jung Yoomi), a naive country girl, who brings out both the jerk and the nice guy in him. Clearly a love interest. We also meet the woman who I see as the second protagonist, Cha Hyerin (Yoon Jihye), a headstrong rich girl who is troubling her parents as they want her to marry, but she has her heart set on her dutiful pseudo-adopted older brother, Shin Joonhyuk (Lee Kyuhan).

As the first few episodes go, it clearly is building up to some kind love quadrilateral, but heavy dramatics have been dodged so far. In fact, to some extend the show in its first quarter could be considered a low-key romantic comedy with how the different characters are treating each other. I find Eunsoo a little troubling as a character as she seems enormously immature and naive, which would be hard to swallow except that I have actually met girls like her. But, her decision making process seems somewhat arbitrary. I hope that improves as the show goes on. The other three characters are currently much more consistent and the two leads (in terms of story weight right now) are pretty dynamic and interesting.

Still, it's taking its time to set up its many conflicts. Fortunately, the drama isn't entirely transparent and while I can predict some of what's going to happen, I like how it's leaving some level of unpredictability in how the different characters will interact. I just don't know and so I find this drama much more surprising than many of the others I've seen. On the other hand, this drama it not for the impatient because I'm in episode four and the main hook hasn't been laid out yet. While the drama does manage to end on enough cliffhanger moments that it gets you to want to watch the next episode, the greater story doesn't seem to have begun yet.

Links:

• Watch for free at Crunchyroll and Drama Fever

Inbox: 王立宇宙軍 オネアミスの翼

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise was the legendary animation studio Gainax's first major production and featured a lot of the high quality (mostly) art and animation that would help keep their reputation mostly strong as a unit. It's also largely different from much of their later work as it's primarily a human drama, but knowing nothing about it other than its generous sale price on Blu Ray and the fact that it was an early Gainax work is what drove me to purchase it. In hindsight, I don't think it was a bad pick.

Royal Space Force takes place in some alternate history in an alternate country where Shirotsugh Lhadatt grows up. Failing to become a pilot because of poor grades he ends up joining the Royal Space Force, seemingly a joke department of the government whose purpose is to add a military presence to space. But they mostly just bumble around. One day, during a night out, Shiro meets Riquinni, a devout religious woman/doomsayer handing out pamphlets and, having an interest in her, he visits her the next day, becomes inspired by her enthusiasm for his job to go to space and suddenly becomes the only person on his team that starts taking his job seriously (while also continuing to try to score points with Riquinni on the side). And then the team, invigorated by Shiro's dedication seems like they just might make it. Of course, political machinations start to show up when this thing becomes more than a remote possibility.

While other Gainax products might come with a lot of action and fan service, Royal Space Force is actually primarily a drama. It focuses on Shiro, but also the people around Shiro and to a lesser degree in the last act of the film, the politics surrounding the launch. The film is admittedly slow moving at parts, half of the time, I find it meditative and interesting, the other half, I find the slow moments unnecessarily draggy. More interesting is how Riquinni affects Shiro, for both good and bad. I overall think the character development is the most interesting part of the story, especially as it impacts Shiro, but there is some subtext about fear and the power of human determination. In the end, however, the whole affair was a little long, sometimes fascinating and sometimes boring. There are also some really gripping moments, both revolving a neighboring nation's involvement, where the film really gets the dramatic suspense going.

What makes it worth watching even in the boring moments however, is the art. There's a fascinating attention to detail as they create, visually, a whole new culture. From top-bound books, to dishware to the clothes they wear and the look of the technology, everything seems so well thought out that it's a very convincing new world. Furthermore, the art is often quite impressive, even if sometimes I felt like I was being overloaded with it at times at the expense of the story. Interestingly, while there's a high attention to detail in terms of design, I frequently noticed animation goofs, like disappearing and reappearing uniforms or some elements switching from the left side of a person to the right side. Although I found that distracting, I mostly managed to look past it.

The Japanese voice cast was convincing, even if I wasn't blown away by any single performance. The music was actually quite strong, even though much of it was clearly synthesized, and sometimes the score really helped to carry the meditative scenes, but silence was also quite effectively used at times.

In the end, I don't think Royal Space Force is for everyone, including shonen-style anime fans. It's very much more of a character drama with lots of great artwork, even if spotty in terms of continuity at times. However, if you like meditative character dramas, more along the lines of Ghost in the Shell, without the science fiction elements, then Royal Space Force might prove an interesting adventure. 7/10.

Links:

• Feature website
• Available at Amazon (Blu Ray) / (DVD)

Replay: 情

Replay revisits moving pictures that I have seen in the past.

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For some reason, I'd been under the impression that, while I owned a copy of My Heart on DVD, I had yet to actually watch the film. In fact, after watching the film yet again, I realized that I'd actually tried to watch this film a couple times before, growing impatient the first couple times and finally having actually seen the whole film prior to viewing it again just recently. And yet, the weight of the film never managed to stay in my memory. The film actually has some worthwhile qualities, but also has some problems which trouble it as well and a very unusual quality to it that makes it one of those films that is clearly geared for foreign festivals, rather than domestic interest.

The film opens up with an old woman (Kim Yoomi) waiting in a field of flowers for her son and then begins to recollect her life. The rest of the film is a recollection of four different periods of her life: her early arranged marriage, her second love marriage, a winter with a surprise guest, and an epilogue with her son. These don't really tell a whole story, but are more like snippets in the life of the woman, who clearly lives with no small amount of hardship.

The film's fragmented structure is more vignette oriented and doesn't really encompass an overall logical story, even as it does compose an overall emotional story and in that sense, it works well. However, there are some noticeable problems with the story, even as presented. First, the main protagonist is not well developed. While we understand the situations she is placed into, she seems to take everything in surprisingly good stride--yes she's hurt, but she seems to bounce back pretty quickly. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be much character to her besides her constant reading of the 장화 & 홍련 story; the rest seems to be a universalized projection of human goodness in suffering (a la Chunhyang). Second, as she moves on from one place to another, she somehow manages to find housing on her own without explanation, with is suspect, unless she's squatting on abandoned property as a displaced woman, she had neither the means nor the study to acquire such houses on her own. This gaping hold in the story's logic really had me puzzled throughout the whole run of the film, distracting me from what was being presented on-screen.

I can see why the film did so well on the film festival circuit though, because it carries a lot of beautiful photography of both natural and cultural Korea and almost seems to be looking at the country and its people through an foreign eye, although it was directed and written by a veteran Korean filmmaker. And the photography really is quite pretty most of the time. The direction of the actors is pretty good too, also helping that the lead actress also had a hand in the script. However, outside of the lead, some of the other actors weren't consistent, with some characters dropping and gaining their country accents and others not being consistent in tone and behavior (watch how the mother in law goes from crazy to sober in just two scenes, losing a stereotypical old woman accent in the process). And the music is quite overbearing most of the time and oftentimes clearly cheaply synthesized, when a fully orchestral score would be more appropriate for the film. Lastly, the editing (or direction) often has some very abrupt or non-contiguous cuts, frequently breaking the 180-degree rule (even as it follows most of the other rules) leading to some rather unpredictable changes on screen space.

Overall, the film isn't bad. It's got plenty of eye candy and the vignettes are interesting and even contain a degree of emotional nuance and the emotional whole that they impart is substantial, even though there are some noticeable logical gaps in the story. It does suffer a little from overblown music, occasionally disorienting editing and lapses in character consistency, as well as not having a particularly compelling main character, even as her situations are compelling. Ultimately, this makes the film an all right experience and it's clearly geared towards the non-Korean festival crowd, so I suppose I can recommend it for those who fit that profile. For others, I wouldn't recommend it, but I won't suggest you avoid it either. 6/10.

Inbox: 연애의 목적

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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I originally missed my chance at catching Rules of Dating during its trip around the US back in 2005-2006 and copies of the DVD went out of print shortly thereafter. I think part of the problem was that the film was marketed as a romantic comedy with some light sexual undertones, which didn't really interest me at the time. However, that is not what this film really is and when I later saw a few more favorable (even if still mixed) reviews of the film, I wanted to check it out, but by then the film had vanished from print. Recently, the film got an additional printing and turned out to be a bargain, so I grabbed it while I could and I have to say I'm glad that I did. While it's problematic, I found Rules of Dating to have a surprising amount of thought put into it and it defies traditional conventions of the romance drama.

The film actually opens with Lee Yurim (Park Haeil), a teacher at a middle school or high school, making an overtly sexual remark to Choi Hong (Kang Hyejung) while sitting on a bench in front of the school. This slice is clearly taken out of time with the rest of the film, which proceeds linearly from there. Choi is a new student teacher assigned to Lee and Lee, although he has a girlfriend of six years and Choi has a fiancé, he propositions her for sex and continues to badger her in an attempt to get physically intimate. Choi, clearly reserved, takes a quiet passive approach to dealing with his advances and things get more entangled there, as we learn more about why Choi is a 27-year old student teacher.

Okay, first of all, Lee Yurim is a slimebag and the film doesn't really hold bag in how much of a slimebag he is. He does stuff to Choi that is pretty close to unforgivable, especially in the first half of the film. He's dishonest, manipulative, coercive and abusive, but the film doesn't stop there and, surprisingly humanizes him as the film progresses. This is somewhat problematic because the film (and Choi) almost seems to forgive his misdeeds, even though it doesn't let him be a karma houdini outright. The film is likewise complicated with Choi and Lee's strange relationship as the power dynamic fluctuate as the two become more emotionally entangled. It's this factor that makes the story much more complex, and consequently, more interesting. It's that Lee can't be painted as purely a villain, nor Choi as merely a victim that keeps the story interesting as well as watching the drama that erupts from their emotional development.

The film has a lot of handheld shots, which seemed to be in vogue during the mid-2000s in Korean filmmaking, which works in some scenes due to the uncertainty and underlying tension within them, but sometimes I felt like it was just a purely aesthetic decision that didn't add to storytelling in many other scenes. The production values are solid, as is typical for a mainstream-geared post-Korean New Wave film and Han Jaerim does a good job of keeping an eye on the storytelling, minus the handheld stuff mentioned above. However, with a film with characters as complex as Rules of Dating, a lot rests on the shoulders of the actors and Park and Kang breathe a lot of life into their characters. Park plays the slimebag Lee excellently, convincingly showing his self-serving manipulation that Lee believes himself in, but yet maintains just enough of his humanity in the performance that it doesn't slip into farcical territory. Kang, on the other hand, had to play mouse for much of the film, which admittedly isn't too hard, but once her character starts opening up, she really captures her thawing well.

I end up with mixed feelings about this film, because of Lee's sexually harassing character and how Choi eventually somewhat accepts him (not a good message, folks!). At the same time, I appreciate how the film paints neither character with broad strokes and honestly develops the characters and their strange relationship. Backed by strong performances, I can say that Rules of Dating is a genuinely interesting film, even if the story might be conveying a problematic message. As such, it might be an interesting film for some to check out, but I don't think it's for everyone, especially for the polemically minded. 7/10.

Links:

• Additional Reviews: Koreanfilm.org
• Available at YesAsia

Progress Report: 내 이름은 김삼순

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

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Back on June 13, I started watching a Korean television series called My Name Is Kim Samsoon. Since then, I managed to finish the series, watching an episode a day, missing a few days here and there and overall, I found it to be a pretty enjoyable ride, although I think my reaction to it is likely more muted than its many fans out there.

The show follows the title character, Kim Samsoon (Kim Sunah), who is cursed (or blessed) with a tremendously out-of-fashion name. She's the antithesis of the Korean drama heroine, being almost thirty, foul-mouthed with a temper to match and is just ever so slightly chubbier than the stick-like women that usually lead these shows. I've seen her compared to Bridget Jones and, to some extent, the comparison sticks. Dumped on Christmas by her two-timing ex and simultaneously losing her job, she later seeks both a man to marry (via professional matchmakers) and a new job as a pâtissier (pastry chef). She has a coincidental encounter with an arrogant rich jerk, Hyun Jinhoen (Hyun Bin), who happens to run a French restaurant in need of a pâtissier. As soon as she is hired, to get his mother off his back about finding a wife, he decides to pay the impoverished Samsoon to fake being a relationship with him. These two proceed to hit it off, Pride and Prejudice-style, with a few twists being thrown in via Jinheon's previous flame, Yoo Heejin (Jung Ryowon) returning to rekindle their tragically severed relationship. And lots of side plots including family members and coworkers at the restaurant.

Overall, the story is well paced, well balanced with central conflict and supporting drama. While it really relies on common Korean drama clichés and plot development for its story (contractual relationship, hidden past, tragic past relationships, disapproving mothers, amongst others), the series does manage to have a different kind of heroine in Samsoon. Jinheon is a prototypical Mr. Darcy/Benedick, the kind that has just enough of a soft side to get ladies to like him as a redeemable bad boy. And he happened to drive me nuts with his endless douche-like behavior, naiveté, indecisiveness and straight up idiocy. I still can't entirely fathom why Samsoon likes him, even as he's an irrepressible idiot most of the time. I spent a good amount of time after the halfway point of this series yelling at both Samsoon and Jinheon for their respective stupidities (one for liking an idiot and the other for being one). The secondary characters, Heejin and Henry (Daniel Henney) are rather "pure" characters, who are ultimately faultless (and Heejin gets a couple tearjerker moments for her sacrificial lamb of a character). Henry is really a character of limited necessity in the show and it, in part, seems like he's just there (understandably) as estrogen brigade bait. Fortunately, for all of its clichés and simple secondary characters, the show is filled with a strong cast of support characters (Samsoon's family is great, as are many of the restaurant staff) and the storytelling is excellent in its pacing and conflict that it goes down easy and always leaves you wanting to see what happens next.

The show itself follows the look of other dramas, with high production values and standard warm drama lighting. Although I have to admit that sometimes the lighting got quite ugly, especially where fluorescent bleeds bathed the picture in a sickly green (Jinheon's office especially). Direction largely stays within the standards of invisible storytelling, but it does veer off with imaginative asides (that happen much too frequently early on). But outside of those, the show stays relatively clear of overblown directorial techniques. In fact, some of the more subtle moments, watching as Samsoon bakes in effort to work out the conflict in her mind, make for some of the best moments in the drama. Kim Sunah does a superb job with her Samsoon character, acting up her awkward elements, but hitting the sensitive moments as well as the belligerent moments just right. Hyun Bin is a little more limited in range and sometimes his acting is telegraphed (especially in super-dramatic moments), but carries his role adequately. Jung Ryowon surprised me with her excellent English and a performance that I didn't expect from a Kpop singer. Henney, was clearly a nonactor, barely keeping his scenes dissolving by his charisma and striking good looks. The soundtrack selection is fun, although even as much as I love Clazziquai, I felt like at times the songs were abused and close to grating from overuse.

I'm not going to lie, I had some fun watching this drama, although plenty of frustrations with its often limited character development (I had a hard time buying that the two main characters actually developed feelings for each other, which really hurt their later interactions). But the chemistry between the leads was strong and Samsoon and her world are well fleshed out, making her the real centerpoint of the series, which is good, because my frustration boundaries were often pierced during this series. The story, is just a little above average, but its told so well that it becomes a compelling watch, even if its rewards are limited. It's well directed and produced with the flash of a hit series so it's easy on the eyes. It balances fun and drama well. Consequently, it's an enjoyable series to watch that wins its large following with good reason. I just can't appreciate it as much because I just wasn't convinced by the character development and what comes across to me as contrived romance. But for fans of Korean drama, Samsoon is definitely a good watch, even if just to hang out in Samsoon's crazy world. 7/10.

Links:

• Series website
• Additional Reviews: Koreanfilm.org
• Watch for free at Crunchyroll, Hulu and Drama Fever
• Available at Amazon and YesAsia

Inbox: 비열한 거리

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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A Dirty Carnival was one of the two films by director Yu Ha that I haven't seen yet and while his filmography covers a lot of ground, A Dirty Carnival follows the spirit of his preceding film, Once Upon a Time in High School, in exploring violence and masculinity. This time, Yu explores the very well treaded gangster drama, while adding a few twists and a strong focus on the characters and ends up with what might be one of the best Korean gangster dramas out there.

In the film, Byungdoo, a middle-ranking mob agent (Jo Insung) is broke, his family's going to get evicted because they can't make mortgage and the part of the gang that he runs is poor and possibly also going to get evicted. But like other gangster dramas of its ilk, our would be big-man, Byungdoo gets an opportunity to crawl out from under his captain and takes it, establishing himself in the underworld. At the same time, a childhood friend, now film director shows up doing some research about the criminal life and helps him run into their mutual childhood friend, a longtime crush of Byungdoo's. Obviously, things get complicated.

At it's core, this drama isn't much different from what we've seen before in similar genre films about a low-ranked gangster's rise and fall. But like many of its compatriots, it's a well done exploration of the cycle of violence, the tension between loyalty and self-interest and the tragedy of hubris. I especially liked how it takes its time, helping us to get to know the main character and how he's not a complete monster, but clearly a human being who often just feels trapped by the choices he's made and how violence has embedded itself into his soul. I felt like the entire love story was a little underbaked and took too much time to make its point, although it was an important refrain in how the life Byungdoo chooses to live keeps him from the things that he actually wants and possibly needs. I thought the movie-within-the-movie would be a little gimmicky, but it turned out to be an interesting way to reflect the impact of such a lifestyle on both the characters in the film and also to the audience. Interestingly, it's done with a light enough touch that it avoids any Brechtian dissonance until the very end, where Yu makes an interesting implication about himself and his own complicity in being involved in the cycle of violence.

I have to say that I was also surprised by the performed of Jo, although I did get to see his abilities in Yu's subsequent Frozen Flower. He has a pretty boy's looks and so you'd never expect him to be a believable gangster, as highlighted in the film by one character remarking how Byungdoo doesn't even look like a gangster and how the organization needed faces like his. But, he surprisingly gets the coldness of the gangster right, but his pretty-boy vulnerability hits just right in those moments when he's reeling from his decisions and keeps him sympathetic. The supporting actors all largely do well too; I like how few characters come across as excessively hammy and how the gangsters manage to carry a lot of menace without having to mug for the camera. Yu's direction is subtle, but still manages to retain an almost lyrical feel and while sometimes the pacing gets a touch slow, he draws such careful characterizations that it's hard to lose sight of the larger story. The music itself ties the film to other epic gangster films, often sounding like Italian American gangster films in its score--which largely works, but sometimes goes a touch too strong for the more subtle material in the film.

I think what I appreciate most about A Dirty Carnival is how it focuses on the details, building a believable and interesting character who is sympathetic enough that you want an out for him, but who is corrupted enough by the violence in his life that you still can't respect some of the decisions he makes. I don't think the filmmaker and love story as as well integrated into the film as they could be, but the film-within-the-film aspect gets stronger towards the end. And just the eye for character detail and consequent drama keeps this one interesting through its very long runtime. It might not sell any kind of remarkable concept like some gangster dramas, but its almost ground-level semi-realistic depiction of that life is almost inescapably interesting. As such, this is a gangster drama that lives up to many of its peers from all around the world and is highly recommended for those that can appreciate a well told gangster drama. 8/10.

Links:

• Additional Reviews: Koreanfilm.org, VCinema
• Available at Amazon (DVD) and YesAsia (Blu Ray)