Luke C on Film.

Review by Luke Carberry

Indie director Yoon-ki Lee returns after the critically acclaimed Ad Lib Night with former Cannes winner (Best Actress) Do-yeon Jeon and rising star Jung-woo Ha (The Chaser). With two of South Korea’s most talented performers in his hands, Yoon-ki Lee sets about creating a drama driven road movie in the simplest of forms, in My Dear Enemy.

One day Byoung-woon (Jung-woo Ha) is approached by Hee-soo (Do-yeon Jeon), a woman from his past who has shown up to retrieve $3,500 he still owes her. Claiming he doesn’t have the money on him and excited by the opportunity to catch up with a past flame, Byoung-woon asks Hee-soo to accompany him as he travels around Seoul borrowing more money in order to pay her back. Reluctant but determined, Hee-soo agrees, and as they begin to spend their day together old wounds are reopened.

My Dear Enemy is a film which attempts the always difficult - proving that less is more. Having said that, based on the success of his previous work it’s fair to say that Yoon-Ki Lee has a knack for this style of filmmaking. With that being the case, it’s no surprise that the film is another effective stab from the director at bringing a simple premise to life.

On the surface My Dear Enemy may appear to be yet another South Korean drama dealing with power struggles between men and women in a slightly hip and blasé manner. However, what bubbles deep beneath is a stark and frank look at the human psyche, and how it deals with aspirations which may not always be in reach. While the dialogue itself might not always lead to this topic being broached directly by the characters, the long gaps and awkward silences allow the viewer to fill in the intentional blanks. It’s all about subtext and reading between the lines, just like real life, and it’s in being constantly reserved that My Dear Enemy’s realism truly shines through.

My Dear Enemy is essentially a road movie, be it on a rather small scale. It’s by no means epic, as there aren’t any long highways, the leads aren’t hopping from city to city, and there isn’t an ever increasing number of eccentric characters being introduced in order to lighten things up. Hee-soo and Byoung-woon never plan on spending the entire day together, but as they go from person to person borrowing money the time inevitably ticks away. Because of this you might expect a film in which two people simply drive around asking for favours to become repetitive or stilted, especially seeing as there are no out of the blue shenanigans or surreal occurrences thrown in, but it’s because of the film’s essential lead performances that this never becomes the case. Both Do-yeon Jeon and Jung-woo Ha are on top form. Do-yeon Jeon’s cold exterior and tight lipped presence lends itself perfectly to the film’s many quiet moments, in which Jung-woo Ha excels at bringing up past tiffs between the couple, in turn producing more arguments which help to gradually develop character and reveal intricacies between them. The slow pace at which both of the stars operate lends a sense of intrigue to the proceedings and means there is a reason to continue following these two along their journey, as you are forever wondering where they will end up.

My Dear Enemy has an open beginning and an open ending, between those two points lies a puzzle waiting to be pieced together. Who are these people? How do they know each other? What will happen once the day ends? The film won’t answer these questions for you, you’ll be left to draw your own conclusions instead. That’s what makes Yoon-ki Lee’s latest picture worthwhile - it’s never black or white, unpredictability is the name of the game, which makes it both a challenging and rewarding experience.

__________

Director: Yoon-ki Lee

Writer: Asuko Taira

Producers: Seong-kyu Jo, Kwang-hee Jo, Jeong-wan Oh, Dong-ho Lee

Starring: Do-yeon Jeon, Jung-woo Ha

Year of Release: 2008

Country: South Korea

September 12, 2009, 7:16pm   Comments

Review by Luke Carberry

Keisuke Yoshida’s Café Isobe seems innocent enough from the outset, its promotional campaign might have you believing that it’s simply a light hearted comedy about a family run café, and in many regards you’d be absolutely right. However, it quickly becomes apparent that this is a film which holds no fears when it comes to playing with viewers’ expectations, and as a result it ends up being something quite special.

Sakiko (Riisa Naka) lives with her divorced father Yuziro (Hiroyuki Miyasako), who is unemployed and spends most of his time sleeping. When Sakiko’s Grandfather dies, Yuziro inherits a substantial sum of money. In an attempt to get his daughter off his back, he decides to open a small café with the money, and asks Sakiko to help run it in her spare time. She’s a little reluctant at first, what with her father’s track record, and cheesy attempts at advertising the café, but she eventually caves in. When a young and attractive lady named Motoko (Kumiko Aso) shows up on the scene, the relationship between the three becomes complicated, and as a result the café begins to experience a series of ups and down.

The film starts out like any other quiet indie comedy, by playing it safe. It follows a relatively standard narrative path, pausing only to inject moments of reserved humour at some what unexpected points. While it’s perfectly viewable, it’s a pretty standard affair to begin with. It’s not until half way through the film, that things start to become truly interesting. The plot takes a slightly darker turn, and comedy takes a backseat, as Yoshida puts the focus on drama, and the three main characters take centre stage.

For that reason it’s definitely a film of two halves, but it’s not jarring in a unintentional sense, in fact one might argue that it’s totally necessary. The first half of the film works hard at forming bonds between characters through short bursts of witty dialogue and awkward one on ones. Without this gentle first half, what follows wouldn’t really be justified. It’s a brave move on the director’s part, but it almost certainly pays off.

Café Isobe eventually evolves into a very honest study of a single parent family, and reveals how outsiders can shake such relationships to the very core, but it’s overriding message is that a strong family unit will overcome all. It’s not done in a heavy handed manner, it’s not pandering for your sympathy, and there are no overtly sentimental moments or soapy clichés. Apart from the comedy, it’s played entirely straight, which is a difficult thing to pull off, and for that not only does the director deserve credit, but also the brilliant cast. Most noteworthy would be newcomer Riisa Naka who plays young Sakiko. At only nineteen years of age she’s already in her element, and quickly proves that she’s a master of both body language and facial expression. On many an occasion, one turning up of the lip or slow but piercing move of the eyes is all she needs to steal a scene. Yoshida hit the jackpot with her, and I’m sure she has a very bright future ahead of her. Veterans Hiroyuki Miyasako and Kimiko Aso shouldn’t be overlooked either, with their brilliant onscreen chemistry forming the backbone for the plot.

Café Isobe is a very pleasant surprise. With only one other film under his belt (Raw Summer), director Keisuke Yoshida shows a lot of promise. As a film which isn’t afraid to take risks and unwilling to water down the drama in order to offer more laughs, it’s more than commendable. Best of all is that Yoshida wrote it himself, which means that as long as he’s granted such freedom in the future, I’m hopeful we can expect exciting things from him. Café Isobe is a great sophomore effort, it’s funny, warm, meaningful, and most importantly it’s uncompromising. Something which is all too rare nowadays.

__________

Director: Keisuke Yoshida

Writer: Keisuke Yoshida

Producers: Yumiko Takebe, Kazumasa Watanabe

Starring: Riisa Naka, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Kimiko Aso

Year of Release: 2008

Country: Japan

September 10, 2009, 11:33am   Comments