London Korean Film Festival Reviews

Murder, Take One (박수칠 때 떠나라)

Director: JANG Jin 장진
Starring: Cha Seung-Won (차승원), Shin Ha-Gyun (신하균), Shin Goo (신구) & Jung Dong-Hwan (정동환)
Running Time: 115mins
Cert: TBC
Korean Distributor: Cinema Service 시네마 서비스 (International Sales - CJ Entertainment CJ 엔터테인먼트)
Korean Admissions:  2,475,291 admissions nationwide (815,497 Seoul)*
Korean Release Date: 8 November 2005

NO UK THEATRICAL GENERAL RELEASE

* Sourced by twitch

Synopsis:
A murder of a woman in a hotel room leaves prosecutor Choi investigating into a seemingly simple murder. However, he soon finds that nothing is what it seems.

Review:

Murder, Take One is an adaptation of director Jang Jin’s own theatre play. With his other play Welcome to Dongmakgol already transferred to the silver screen, much could be anticipated from this murder mystery, but it misfired on mostly all cylinders.

The films opens very promisingly. A spectacular ascending pan shot reveals a dead woman in a hotel, at which point the panning reveals all the other rooms in that floor, of which investigations are going through by the police. The camera then takes us back down to the front of the hotel, where the police are trying to unravel what exactly happened. We then continue, again promisingly, to a fascinating encounter between prosector Choi Yeon-gi (Cha Seung-won) and suspect Kim Young-hun (Shin Ha-kyun). First tense, then funny, then disturbing, this encounter displays great performances from the two, with great dialogue. Unfortunately, most aspects of the story go downhill from there.

Although there are some generally funny moments in the film, such as a Japanese-Korean translation scene, as well as a gangster raid fantasy sequence, the film falls flat in the main stage, which it originally set out to pursue – murder. The murder is muddled at best, with characters being introduced at different stages of the film as possible suspects, and very little built up around the actual murder. One can’t help but wish that the film would revolve more around the psycho-drama between Cha Seung-won and Shin Ha-kyun which was built up so well in the first half of the film, instead of introducing more suspects.

One of the real saving graces of the film is the genuinely witty dialogue, which saves the film from becoming boring. Although the narrative seems to go further and further away from the actual plot, the engrossing dialogue keeps the audience hooked enough to still be entertained by a floundering narrative. Characters and scenes that would be much underplayed in other films are built up, to which we get some great performances from smaller characters. In this film, everyone is a character, not just a walk on. Some scenes, such as the aforementioned Japanese-Korean translation scene, and a long winded explanation of death to prosecutor Cho, reveal some great dialogue from relatively small characters. Make no mistake, Jin Jang can write dialogue.

Unfortunately, that’s about all the strengths of the film. A sense of Save The Green Planet syndrome, or trying to cram in too much into a relatively simple premise, is evident in Murder, Take One. A real mixed blessing is the casting of Shin Ha-kyun as the deranged lead suspect. Every scene which Shin is in, he steals, but as the film goes on, his scenes become lesser and void. As the film continued, Shin’s amazing performance was becoming a distant memory to me when he finally resurfaced. It was a masterstroke to cast him in that role, but slightly amateur to not give him centre stage in the second half of the film. As the climax chooses to scramble the murder into multiple suspects, a Breaking News-like media obsession and an unnecessary paranormal twist, we find the plot is more than lost by the end, it is dead and buried. Upon viewing a feeling of frustration sets in that you’ve seen an ok movie, when you could have seen a truly great one.

* *

AASHISH GADHVI

All for Love

 내 생애 가장 아름다운일주일

2005 ㅣ 138min ㅣ 35mm ㅣ 2.35:1 ㅣ Color ㅣ Dolby Digital SRD ㅣ Drama / Romance / Comedy
Domestic Release Date: October 7, 2005

Production DOOSABOO Film  ㅣ Soo Film
Cast UHM Jung-hwa ㅣ YIM Chang-jeong  ㅣ KIM Soo-ro  ㅣ HWANG Jung-min

Director MIN Kyu-dong 민규동 Producers YOON Je-gyun 윤제균 ㅣ HUR Tae-gu 허태구 ㅣ MIN Jin-soo 민진수 Screenplay YOO Sung-hyup 유성협 ㅣ MIN Kyu-dong 민규동 Cinematography OH Seung-hwan 오승환 Editor MOON In-dae 문인대 Lighting KIM Ki-moon 김기문 Music LEE Byung-woo 이병우


If there was a film that triumphed at this years festival, it was this one. The audience spent the duration of the film firmly engaged with a beautiful and compelling portrayal of Korean culture. The laughs were as frequent as the episodes of water filled eyes and to walk out of the cinema having not been moved takes a great deal of strength and insanity.

Inspired by the British film, Love Actually the narrative explores seven intertwined relationships in one love story over the duration of a week, which will in turn change each of them forever.

It may sound very cheesy and cliché, but this film works, not only well, but far better than Love Actually could ever dream off. Min Kyu-dong wonderfully incorporates the Korean culture, which makes this film so unique. From the issues of class to the clashes of gender, this film tackles some of the most sensitive culture issues in a very delicate, yet enjoyable way. The very sensitive debate of homosexuality is pampered with humour, but at the same time invokes sentiment, which is not only compelling viewing, but also hints some traditional taboos are beginning to break.

One of the great attributes to this film is the cast. From the youngest generation to the maturest, the chemistry is electrifying.  Uhm Jung-hwam, Yim Chang-jeong, Kim Soo-ro and Hwang Jung-min stretch their persona’s from flat out laughter to moments of sorrow and anger.

Like Love Actually the film relies heavily on its soundtrack and unsurprisingly it works very well. The balance between Korean and Western music is inspiring. This is not necessarily a positive thing, since it may mean you will have to dish out a further £15 for the soundtrack.

Although Min Kyu-Dong uses the Love Actually formula, All for Love makes good use of other films, which have obviously been an influence to him. He makes reference to the classical Hollywood era, namely Gone for the Wind, which is rather explicit in its reference towards the finale. Joo Hyoung’s character, who owns a cinema and falls in love is perhaps following in the footsteps of Humphrey Bogart in the classic, Casablanca. Some may disagree, but he certainly reminds me of that rather stern persona. The turbulent nature of the emotions during the film is also reminiscent of It’s a Wonderful Life. There are also key references to the silent era as well as more recent films like When Harry met sally.

If there are any criticisms, the length is perhaps one of the films main weaknesses. Running at more than two hours, there is sense of exhaustion, however at the same time, you won’t realise over two hours has passed. The film at times does become a little trivial and comes on the edge of becoming ridiculous. Having said that though, this is all part of the fun and to bring the film down on such a trivial issue is ridiculous in itself!

In summary All for love is nothing short of a classic. It is the ultimate feel good factor film that will bring a smile to your face even in the worst of moods. Whilst this is all happening Min Kyu-dong takes the audience on a fascinating journey of Korean culture, which explores its strengths and weaknesses. Oh and it also worth pointing out that the literal translation to 내생애 가장 아름다운 일주일 is ‘The Most Beautiful week in My Life’. Perhaps they felt this was a little too cliché for Western audiences. Nonetheless, regardless of the title, this is a brilliant film and I suggest you either get a copy or if it does get a UK release, don’t miss it.



*  *  *  *  *


JASON BECHERVAISE

Princess Aurora  오로라 공주

2005 ㅣ 106min ㅣ 35mm ㅣ 2.35:1 ㅣ Color ㅣ Dolby Digital SRD ㅣ Thriller / Drama
Domestic Release Date: October 28, 2005

Production EAST Film
Cast UHM Jung-hwa  ㅣ MOON Sung-geun


Director BANG Eun-jin 방은진 Producer MYUNG Kay-nam 명계남 Screenplay SEO Min-hee 서민희 ㅣ PANG Eun-jin 방은진 Cinematography CHOI Young-hwan 최영환 Editor KIM Hyun 김현 Lighting KIM Sung-kwan 김성관 Music JUNG Jae-hyung 정재형


Last night I was pleasantly surprised after watching the premiere of ‘Princess Aurora’ at the London Korean film Festival. Although I had heard numerous reports that this film had pleased critics and audiences alike in Korea, my initial thought was it seemed at a first glance to be a repeat of the Tartan fair of extreme violence and sadism.

It begins with a murder in a supermarket and before long this killing is merely the beginning of a serial killer on the loose. But the killer leaves clues, namely with a sticker ‘Princess Aurora’. Before long the police on her tale, led by a detective Oh, but unknown to the rest of the police department, he knows who the killer is, his ex-wife.
 
Admittedly its groterous violence mimics some of Park Chan-Wook and Kim Jee-Woon’s work, however, in my opinion there are stronger similarities to Bong Joon-Ho with his masterpiece ‘Memories of Murder.’ Although the subject matter is far different from the murders, which took place from 1986, there is a strong correlation to his work of balancing humour alongside tragedy and even redemption. The beautiful cinematography is also not too dissimilar to 'Memories of Murder', with numerous compelling scenes that leave you focussed on the magnificent photography, rather than the characters themselves. The shot in the tunnel towards the conclusion of the film leaves you with a sense of awe, or at least in my case, with a peculiar mixture of emotions drawn from the use of colours and textures used in the shot.

Likewise acting throughout the whole film is nothing less than flawless. Uhm Jung-hwa, arguably draws her inspiration from Lee Young-ae, who plays Guem ja in Park Chan-Wook’s ‘lady vengeance’. However, although the similarities are strong, there are also clear variations. Her ability to convey a whole variety of emotions, from revenge to schizophrenia to despair and finally to sheer heartache and agony through her characters loss goes well beyond the role of Guem-Ja. This is not to belittle Lee Young-Ae or her character, but it is evidently clear that Uhm Jung-hwa is a very gifted screen performer. 

As pointed out, strong performances are exhibited throughout the whole cast. Her antagonist (Moon Sung-guen), who ironically is her ex-husband, is equally impressive and to list his qualities would exhaust my fingers! Arguably what makes this film so compelling is the central characters chemistry who are enemies, yet at the same time alone in coming to gips with their past.

One minor criticism is the length. By the time the credits role, one does get the impression that Ban Eun-Jin, despite great intentions has outstayed his welcome, but just by about 10 minutes or so.

Nonetheless, if this film ever gets a release in the UK, audiences are in for a treat, though this film doesn’t suit everyone’s taste, which is probably why one or two individuals felt the need to exit the cinema before the close of the film. But in my view, you don’t get many films like this.

*  *  *  *

JASON BECHERVAISE