Jeonghae, This Brave Girl
I wasn't really sure what This Charming Girl (ėŽė, ė í) would be about except that it's about the female lead's life... having just seen this, this film is now one of my favorite films this year.
To begin, considering the slower than average pace of the movie, the movie makes you pay attention to detail without forcing you to do so, which is the result of Jeonghae's (Kim, Jisoo) poker-faced expressions. This seems to happen because the viewer first grows curious about Jeonghae, tries to make sense of her actions and the movie itself, and then begin to care and value what's being revealed.
One starts to hope to know more about Jeonghae, which comes back to the paying attention to detail part mentioned earlier. The movie speaks with its action: we are rarely told who she is and why she does what she does. Details are instead seen through her behavior and her timely flashbacks, which are used often but to good use. Some flash backs (or thought to be one) make you wonder whether this scene is her past or her present. It could have been just me, but either way, such confusion didn't make me feel frustrated (and didn't last long), but rather just made things more tense, strengthening the drama.
I don't want to say any more than I have to, but as a student who took a non-linear editing course (not that this warrants anything), I thought the editing was very well done. We're not talking about Old Boy style quick transitions or cuts, nor Hong, Sangsoo long takes. The pacing varies, although as a whole the movie leans towards less than medium tempo. So, don't fear that you'll be bored to death, or that your brain will hurt trying to figure things out. The movie is engaging, but mostly subtle, and is clear in the end making one feel satisfied.
For some viewers, especially non-Korean-speaking viewers, it can get a little hectic with having to read the subtitles, although this isn't an action piece and allows more time to read. So, here's an advice on how to enjoy This Charming Girl. I'm not sure if this makes any sense, but the movie seems to require the viewer to use his/her emotional logic to make sense of its narrative.
Right now, I feel terribly sad for Jeonghae, despite small glimpses of hope....
- Posted by chanhee
- October 3, 2005
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