As with the first evening of shorts on Tuesday (Korean-Canadian shorts) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed these films considering that I usually stick to feature length films. It made me consider that in a lot of ways making a short film is more difficult than making a feature film. A story that might be told in 90 mins has to be condensed into just 10 or 30 mins and yet still convey the same emotional impact.
Nan Jian Wan Zi
Bom spends the morning of her birthday meticulously making a special Chinese dish (Nan Jian Wan Zi) for her crush but at the last minute he phones her to say that his band practice is more important and he won't be coming for the meal. Seconds later someone is pounding on her door and it is one of her crush's bandmates (Bom's least favourite). He has come by to use her bathroom and upon seeing the delicious food that she has prepared decided to stay and eat it. Things continue to go wrong for Bom but she ultimately discovers that love can come from the most unexpected places. Directed by Moon Choi who also stars as Bom.
Ari
A slow dance on the beach, time seems to stop as she performs. Each movement an expression of the inner peace and feeling of freedom felt by the dancer as she does what she loves to do. The film begins indoors and moves to a remote beach the sand of which comes right up to her doorstep. Directed by Baek Ki-hwan.
Etude Solo
A man is sent to a school to tune a piano in preparation for an outdoor concert being given by the students. there he unexpectedly finds his first love is a teacher. He flashes back to their piano lessons together and of their separtion when she leaves to study abroad. In lieu of payment from the school he asks to be allowed to play piano at the children's concert. His performance expresses all of the bitter-sweet memories of his first love and the pain of those years lost between them. Directed by Yoo Dae-eol.
The Ordinary People
A disgruntled office worker is plagued by nightmares in which he is chased and beaten in the subway station. During the day he experiences strong feelings of Déjà vu and his perception of reality bleeds into memories of his recurring nightmare. Is he having a nervous breakdown or are the pharmaceuticals he takes each morning to blame? Either way you will never look at penguins in quite the same way again. Directed by Go tae-min.
Mark’s Festival
An Englishman named Mark visit's his Girlfriend Jenny's hometown in rural Korea. I would say that he suffers from culture shock but in reality the character is just suffering from being a chronic asshole. Yes Jenny's hometown is remote and the food and culture might be strange and new to him but he is unnecessarily rude and even racist towards not only Jenny but to her hospitable parents and her childhood friends. You find out as the film progresses that they have been dating for 3 years and yet Mark knows next to nothing about Korean culture and when asked if he will marry Jenny always replies with, 'We're still getting to know each other'. Most upsetting for me was a scene where Mark is on a bus and reminiscing about his relationship with Jenny. What should be something heartfelt is actually him admitting that he only started dating her because he has a fetish for Asian women and if this wasn't bad enough he goes on to elaborate saying that he likes that they are supposed to be submissive. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. This was made all the more upsetting for me by the fact that Jenny is not only beautiful but also very intelligent and naturally kind and anything but submissive. You can't help but wonder why the hell she is with Mark. In the end -SPOILER ALERT- they get back together and have a traditional Korean wedding in Jenny's hometown. I was disappointed that she got back together with this man who so clearly did not deserver her or her wonderful family.
Just to end on a more positive note, I loved the depictions of Jenny's hometown and the wedding scene with the beautiful traditional bride and groom's outfits and decorations. Directed by Jang Yujin.
Sera
In this dark comedy by Lim Woo-seong, a woman and her lover have come to a slump in their relationship. they sit in a bar drinking and the woman recalls how things were different at the start of their relationship. The man asks her if she wants to 'start over' and moments later he receives a mysterious text message that reveals something very unexpected about the woman.
Metamorphoses
A hilarious and unconventional vampire story. just for the record Garlic has no effect on Korean vampires and neither do crucifixes (provided that they are Buddhist). A comic book artist goes to the park to get inspiration for his work and also to try to talk to a jogger that he has a crush on. He eventually gets the inspiration that he was looking for but there is an unexpected cost. Directed by Oh In-Chun.
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