Ryu Hyung-ki
Neo-wa na-eui i-shib-il-seki | Our Fantastic 21st Century
Han Soo-yeon
Neo-wa na-eui i-shib-il-seki | Our Fantastic 21st Century
Still in her mid 20s, Soo-young's life is in crisis. She figures she could make it as a fashion designer, but only if she has liposuction, which doesn't come cheap. Her boyfriend has, however, taken off with her savings. Now Soo-young starts manipulating the prices at her current place of work, a supermarket where she stacks shelves, but her scam is discovered. On the run, she bumps into Jae-beom, a loan shark. Soo-young thus begins a journey, one which doesn't just prevent her from making amends for her guilt but actually ends up adding to it.
The film creates an extraordinarily precise portrait of a young woman in today's South Korea, providing at the same time a snapshot of an entire generation. Even in Korea's hyper-modern consumerist society, the tight corset of behavioral codes forced on to young people by a rigid value system is only dismantled quietly; instead, Soo-young must take action in silent desperation. Although she ends up reaching her goal, she is constantly beholden to a fate she cannot escape from. Soo-young is at the mercy of societal constraints which turn hopes into illusions.
The film creates an extraordinarily precise portrait of a young woman in today's South Korea, providing at the same time a snapshot of an entire generation. Even in Korea's hyper-modern consumerist society, the tight corset of behavioral codes forced on to young people by a rigid value system is only dismantled quietly; instead, Soo-young must take action in silent desperation. Although she ends up reaching her goal, she is constantly beholden to a fate she cannot escape from. Soo-young is at the mercy of societal constraints which turn hopes into illusions.
World Sales
CJ Entertainment
Seoul 121-904, Republic of Korea (South Korea)
Additional information
Lee Hwan, Ryu Hyung-ki, Gabriela Seidel-Holländer
Within touching distance of the audience. The director and his leading actor.
Neo-wa na-eui i-shib-il-seki | Our Fantastic 21st Century · Forum · Feb 17, 2010