An omnibus film in three parts. The American independent film maker Jon Jost is at present teaching in Seoul, South Korea. Two of his students, Moon Si-Hyun and Lee Sang-Woo, both made one part and the master himself was responsible for the last part.
Lee Sang-Woo, who last year saw his début film Tropical Manila have its world première in Rotterdam, made the first part, Karma. Lee Sang-Woo himself played the leading role: a lonely man who falls in love with a shop dummy that's been thrown away. He drags his lover everywhere, until she gets stolen.
The second part is by Moon Si-Hyun and is called The Silence. Here, too, Lee Sang-Woo plays an important role: the loving and caring husband of a woman who does nothing and says nothing. She only appears lively in flashbacks.
The two parts are beautifully photographed and classically told, and are closely linked. Mentor Jon Jost took a different approach in his part, entitled Mr Right. In stark contrast, he chose a hyper-realistic approach, but here, too, there's a role for Lee Sang-Woo, who keeps everything together. The three parts have more coherence thematically than stylistically; all are about difficult love relations and the struggle to leave a lover. The Korean parts are consciously strange and perverted, and Jost allows his sober observation to clash with that in a fascinating way. (GjZ)
- Directors
- Jon Jost, Moon Si-Hyun, Lee Sang-Woo
- Premiere
- International premiere
- Country of production
- South Korea
- Year
- 2008
- Festival Edition
- IFFR 2009
- Length
- 90'
- Medium
- Betacam Digi
- Original title
- Misteri bulkehan gurimja
- Language
- Korean
- Producer
- Jon Jost
- Production Company
- Yonsei University
- Sales
- Jon Jost
- Screenplay
- Moon Si-Hyun
- Cinematography
- Jon Jost, Seo Jonguk
- Editor
- Lee Sang-Woo, Marcella Di Palo Jost
- Production Design
- Kim Hyung-Seok
- Sound Design
- Jung Hyun-Soo
- Music
- Cho Sung-Hyun
- Cast
- Lee Sang-Woo