A pleasingly pudgy transgendered teen becomes a wrestling wunderkind in order to secure the hefty prize money for his sex change operation in the directorial debut of acclaimed scriptwriters, Lee Hae-yeong and Lee Hae-jun. It's no wonder then, that added tender loving care was given to its colourful cadre of carefully drawn characters that elevates it from being just another brave little film that's centred around an ideal. Besides having the benefit of seminating from proved pedigree, "Like A Virgin" manages that rare distinction of actually being quite amusing despite succumbing to that very Korean Achilles' heel of parental melodrama. The truest moments of pleasure primarily stems from its protagonist, Oh Dong-gu's (Ryu Deok-hwan) absurd responses to his chauvinistic reality, and his flights of fancy involving an attractive teacher. For the most part, the film does approach society without preconceptions allowing itself a fair bit of leeway for fluff and fantasy. There's a sense that its secondary characters become too much of a handful when there's a discernible, almost portentous shift in tone whenever Dong-gu's miserable louse of a father shows up, upsetting the thoughtful equilibrium of its comedy that does occasionally become reminiscent of Masayuki Suo's "Sumo Do, Sumo Don't".
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glennaa1110 February 2007This is a film that really surprised me. It is the story of a slightly pudgy teenage boy in Korea who wants to become a woman. In order to earn the money to get the operation he works at the docks loading rice before school. But when he discovers, with the help of his quirky best friend, that he can earn enough money by winning the Korean scholastic sumo championship he decides to give that a try. His superhuman strength makes him a formidable wrestler despite the fact that he is much smaller than the other wrestlers. He puts up with the taunts of his schoolmates and being ignored by his alcoholic father who neither likes nor understands his girlish son. His absent mother is much more understanding but is largely out of his life. He's also in love with his Japanese teacher who he believes will love him too once he becomes a woman. He wins over his sumo teammates be being a good wrestler and an even better dancer. The scene where he teaches his much larger teammate his dance moves is funny and sweet. The big guys bond in a way that is actually rather touching. I suppose the story is rather predictable but the performance of the lead is extraordinary and he projects a real sense of confidence that you wouldn't expect from some one in his character's position. He knows who he is and what he wants and nothing is going to stop him. The closing musical number is also a lot of fun. This is an excellent film that I really enjoyed.