Saenghwalui balgyeon (2002)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Sang-soo Hong

Writer:

Sang-soo Hong (writer)

Release Date:

22 March 2002 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Dance Instructor | Nostalgia | Train | Reminiscence | Book

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Sang-mi Choo	...	Seon-young
Ji-won Ye	...	Myung-sook
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hak-sun Kim	...	Seong-wu
Sang-kyung Kim	...	Gyung-soo

Also Known As:

On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate (International: English title)
Turning Gate (International: English title)

Runtime:

115 min | Canada:115 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | South Korea:18 | Japan:R-15

Company:

Cinema Service

Quotes:

Seon-young: Even though it's difficult to be a human being, let's not turn into monsters.

Series of social events wrenched with untamed liaisons

I think it's safe to assume that if you sought this film out on your own or were strongly urged by someone close to watch it, after reading or hearing its vividly gloomy description - chances are that this film will draw near to what you have envisioned and even surpass it. The reason why I say this is because such genre in film, although easily recognizable and independently existent in almost every country, is the embodiment of films described as "acquired taste".

Crafting such films is not an easy task and sometimes enjoying them is as hard, but ultimately rewarding. I always look forward to them, because they often reflect life in such ways that make me blush, feel saddened or merely reminiscent of a similar situation from a personal experience which I never thought possible to see through someone else's eyes.

This film is a fine example of that type of cinema, which isn't cautious, shy nor uncertain of what it wants you to see. Obviously the actors and their delivery is the stronghold of this experience because it tends to bravely strip down to sincere dialogs, perceptive expressions and ordinarily enjoyable landscapes. Something that I always look forward to in Hong's films, no matter how unconventional the tales sometimes tend to be.

Going into the details of the film's plot would be unreasonable due to the nature of its intent or the lack of it, besides other reviews here have given enough insight as it is. In a sentence this has become Hong's favorite set ups in films, where a man and a woman who haven't seen each other in some time meet and share few uncomfortable and sexual situations en route of heavy drinking and eating.

Watch this film on any given day, under any type of a weather, with whomever you desire, because the unfortunate truth is that Seon-young's unintended journey will either fascinate you with its symbolic realism or repel you with its decision not to pass through the turning gate.