쉬리 (강제규, 1999) 3
Shiri (Kang Je-gyu, 1999)
On DVD at Sach’s apartment with Lucía and Sach on 27 March, 2007, at around 22:30.
I guess you have to know the context in which this film was made to really understand what all the fuss is. I certainly don’t—I haven’t really seen any Korean films from then, and in the mid-90s I had no clue what was going in Korean politics at the time. That said, it was an enjoyable action film, despite its more ridiculous elements (an explosive as powerful as a nuclear weapon that is indistinguishable from water and is set off by a combination of heat and a certain color temperature of light). It’s kind of nice how the marketing of the film so contrasted the actual content, particularly in regard to the female lead (she’s never dressed anything like the way she is on the posters and packaging I’ve seen).
()
엽기적인 그녀 (곽재용, 2001) 1
My Sassy Girl (Kwak Jae-yong, 2001)
At home on DVD with Lucía, on 1 March, 2007.
This was an entertaining film. The plot was all over the place and the story as a whole was a little weak, but many of the scenes were so nicely done that it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience overall. Of particular note is Jun Ji-hyun’s ability to contort her face. Every time she says “wanna die?” (or whatever it is that the translator chose to subtitle as “wanna die?”), she contorts her face in the most profound fashion.
Most of the film feels like an American high school film, particularly in the way that the characters relate to each other and the world around them in their still-formless lives (in the film, they are in college, in their twenties).
(*)