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Featured review
Promised a lot but failed to show us anything interesting
I saw this film as part of the Rotterdam Film Festival 2012. The announcement text contained many promises, but none of these became true. We saw a lot of symbolism, all of these probably meaning something, but they lost me in the process. Take for example the restaurant scene (a "dream" according to the announcement), and the ample usage of mirrors (intentions went past me).
About the 3D: It was made much too explicit. It starts with the police officer knocking on the car window in the opening scene, to lecture our main character about speeding. Apparently we see here someone showing off a new gimmick, like we had with stereo sound when that was a new phenomenon in the 1960's. Unlike what the director told us in the final Q&A, it does not make focus stronger, nor does it emphasize what the director wants emphasized. It rather distracts from the real contents.
I was hoping that the final Q&A with the director would reveal something interesting, as I failed to derive any from the film itself. Alas, it did not add anything useful, but I'll try to recall some quotes. The two fishermen we repeatedly see sitting in a boat, got no reasonable explanation. It boiled down to the statement that viewers can be fish as well as fishermen (my interpretation: hunters as well as prey). The story originates partly from Korean folklore, ánd has partly been made up for this film. It basically starts with a wife who looses a child, leaves her husband subsequently, and converts to shamanism beliefs. What can her husband do? Yet, according to the director, what happened is not important, since life is full of uncertainties.
All in all, I could not make anything out of these "explanations". Until today I liked most Korean movies and I hope to see better ones in days to come. This one is a definite setback, but I won't generalize and keep an open mind for further products from Korea.
About the 3D: It was made much too explicit. It starts with the police officer knocking on the car window in the opening scene, to lecture our main character about speeding. Apparently we see here someone showing off a new gimmick, like we had with stereo sound when that was a new phenomenon in the 1960's. Unlike what the director told us in the final Q&A, it does not make focus stronger, nor does it emphasize what the director wants emphasized. It rather distracts from the real contents.
I was hoping that the final Q&A with the director would reveal something interesting, as I failed to derive any from the film itself. Alas, it did not add anything useful, but I'll try to recall some quotes. The two fishermen we repeatedly see sitting in a boat, got no reasonable explanation. It boiled down to the statement that viewers can be fish as well as fishermen (my interpretation: hunters as well as prey). The story originates partly from Korean folklore, ánd has partly been made up for this film. It basically starts with a wife who looses a child, leaves her husband subsequently, and converts to shamanism beliefs. What can her husband do? Yet, according to the director, what happened is not important, since life is full of uncertainties.
All in all, I could not make anything out of these "explanations". Until today I liked most Korean movies and I hope to see better ones in days to come. This one is a definite setback, but I won't generalize and keep an open mind for further products from Korea.
helpful•11
- JvH48
- Oct 28, 2012
Details
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
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