humanome

If you try to find out the traces of original novel (Haruki's), or usual "answers" (e.g. is Hae-Mi killed? by whom?), you might be easily lost. Or at least find the movie very confusing, vague, and dull. First of all, the movie got some style and motifs from the original novel, but it is almost nothing to do with it.

The movie is intentionally centered on the view, angle (the shaky, rough, and sometimes surrealistic camera work), and what Jong-su can see, think, and understand - reflecting the inner Chaos. For him, the world around him is mysterious, confusing, depressing, and outraging. He has not been doing anything wrong, but he sees no hope or future. He wants to be a writer, but he even does not know what he wants to write. for him Hae-mi was the rarest luck (same as the only ephemeral sunshine that Hea-mi's room can have from the reflection of the tower). As an unexpected guy (Ben) interrupts between Jong-su and Hae-mi, and starts to approach Hae-mi with his wealth, Jong-su's hidden wrath toward outside world become more confused, desperately tries to find out what he can get existentialistic understandings.

Overall, the movie bears heavy social connotations, albeit hidden or slightly mentioned within Jong-su's cognitive reach. I think this is the new challenge of the renouned director (Chang-Dong Lee) - an "omniscent viewpoint from the disorganized youth - even the movie only shows what Jong-su can understand with his own language and grammar. Is this a good way to raise an issue and make it sympathized with audience? I don't know. but I can say for certain that it is not a usual approach. I want to call this movie another "Breathless" (of Goddard's) re-created in 2018 Korea, rather than from the Haruki's.

Just I did not really like the latter part of Jong-su's obsessed quest - Not very symbolic or has tense structure with overall movie. Probably many audience has been lost after the latter half. I won't recommend this movie who are seeking Avengers or Deadpool.

This new film by Ki-Duk Kim, one of the most renowned director/writer in Korea, deals an old motif of divided nations again (after "The Coast Guard" in 2002). As the title implies, Kim sees the South-North division as a big net. A fisherman (Chul-Woo Nam by Seung-Bum Ryoo) was caught in the net, by a probable series of accidents. In both South and North, Chul-Woo is suspected as a spy by bureaucratic or corrupted investigators. One believes in freedom, the other in anti-capitalism. But it soon turns out that they are only the weft and warp of the same big net, from which Chul-Woo is so desperate to escape. The real tragedy of this net lies in that even the kindness inevitably takes part in it, for Chul-Woo whose only ambition is to keep and meet his family. Chul-Woo is a stunning symbol of a way broader types of "net" and "fishes", the political and social distortions in the North and in the South as well. Ryoo's acting was superb. Not very easy a movie to see as other Kim's movies (at least less graphic, though), but another great visualization/symbolization as other Kim's works.