Since I was introduced to Korean dramas, I became quickly hooked to modern Korean cinema which was soon turned into an obsession of kind to watch all of those 'well-made' ones since 1999. In explaining it, I often quote genre hybridity and quality performance of all sides in the Korean new wave cinema the source of inspiration, sustained fascination and great entertainment. Unlike many obscure French art cinema and Hollywood mainstream outputs, Korean new wave cinema embodies the magic touch of 'art' with a popular touch.
This perception has been challenged once or twice, by films such as 3-Iron (a film with barely any dialogues), I Am A Cyborg, but That is Alright, and some unconventional romance like One Fine Spring Day. However it had never reached such a disturbing degree as that by the two films I watched over the weekend: Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, and Asako in Ruby Shoes, both made and released in 2000, by two, arguably the most 'cerebral', directors of the 396 generation.
Shot in black and white, Virgin feels like a typical Jacque Rivette film that is known for its non-conventional narration. We are not sure from whose point of view the story is related, and to make it even more challenging, the film presents two different versions of the same events, making it even more confusing as to what has actually happened, least of all, what is in the mind of the protagonists. In both versions, the relationship between the couple appears superficial and mysterious, and the female character a mere object of desire. It was no wonder if the nude scenes triggered the suicide of its actress some five years later. She has bared it all in the name of 'art', but owed to the weak narration, her 'sacrifice' does not seem to serve any purpose. The film was said to be a 'hit' with its home audience and was awarded internationally but she appears more like a porn star in it.
If in shooting it in an austere way Virgin has at least the claim for its striking 'aesthetic' values, Asako poses a completely different challenge to audience. The blank face of the protagonist, the wastefulness of his life, the frequent resort to the most unglamorous parallel to any of a Jia Zhangke's works. A civil servant in a provincial town, Lee's character is bored by the petty and insipid assignments at work. A lost soul, his unrequited love for a red-hair migrant girl leads him to an internet porn star Asako. At the meanwhile in a provincial town in Japan, a teenage girl from a middle class family decides to quit school to earn her pocket money, which eventually leads her to perform for the porn site, which her younger brother frequents. Thousands of miles apart, the two suffer from the lack of aspirations and purposes in life and it does appear that they are the making of their own misfortunate. It is hard to identify with or empathise with the protagonists.
While I feel depressed and puzzled watching them, such films offer an entirely different view on Korea and its people from those of the popular Korean dramas. If the depiction of the bored middle class is a indication of its modernisation process, then Korea has indeed arrived; at a similar stage made apparent in the French new wave or Italian neo-realism cinema back in the later 1950s. Like it or not, these offbeat films offer a glimpse into the lives of the contemporary Korean society.
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