ABOUT THE DEVIL BEING IN THE DETAILS... "OUR SUNHI"

This is another thing I love about film festivals. If you bypass the big galas that will clearly open in a few weeks in cinemas anyway an dig around in the independents, documentaries and foreign films, you can come up with some truly extraordinary things (a fact I have been trying to demonstrate since next week). Our Sunhi, from the “Laugh” section, is definitely one of these. Now, we have all heard of the Buddhist principal whereby life (and subsequently your future incarnations) present you essentially with the same lessons, people and advice until we truly learn from them and move on (I’m sure this concept has an actual name and everything, however… You know…). This is used a lot in productions that are a lot more tragic and didactic by nature. Our Sunhi takes the concept and not only points out that it can be viewed as very funny… It reminds us that we actually probably witness it on a daily basis…

Sunhi is a quiet young woman who wants to become a director. At almost 30, she feels that it may just be too late for her, but is still willing to give it her best shot. Her aim is to get a scholarship to study abroad; she feels this will better her and give her a better shot at her dreams. However, this means stepping out of her shell and acting. And getting over her own fears and uncertainties is one thing, she must also interact with a whole host of people who are… Let’s just say rather unconventional. On the list are her course professor (to whom she must be nice as she needs his reference letter for this programme), her ex (with whom she most definitely has unfinished business) and miscellaneous classmates (who are each “special” in their own way). Another point worth noting is that Sunhi is just about the only woman in this motley crew…  So we watch her trying to figure out which way to go next and we realise that there is, in fact, a lot of circularity in what is going on in her life, albeit hidden under the … Question is, does Sunhi?

Now, as I wrote the review thus far I realised that there are many traps you might fall into in trying to imagine what the film is like / about. First of all, don’t let the idea of repetition scare you – it’s not boring and definitely not absurd comedy. I know, it’s a Korean film and the Korean are rather “out there” when it comes to absurd comedy and it is not everyone’s cup of tea. This is a very delicately constructed romantic comedy – of sorts. The thing is, much like Sunhi, it is a bit of an original so a tad hard to classify.

Secondly, don’t be scared by the concept of “Buddhist concepts” , the film is NOT about how we should examine our lives and not repeat our mistakes. Well, it is, but this is not the main point, and the film merely shows us how these repetitions don’t necessarily need to come in the form of dramatic events but can actually be hidden in day to day events. And it goes on to suggest that, to move forward, it might be a good idea to actually pay attention to what is going on around us and you know… Act on it maybe? But like I said, this is just a suggestion. The repetitions mentioned are subtle yet not so subtle they cannot be used for great comic effect. And more importantly, they are very sensitive and taken directly from real life. I mean, for example, imagine when you first move to an area, change jobs or schools… You know how for a while, you end up just having the same conversation with different people until things settle into a routine? It happens at parties as well if there are a lot of people you don’t know. Yeah, kind of like that, only concerning things such as love, relationships, major life decisions etc.

You might think, at first glance, that Our Sunhi is making a bit too much of a fool of some of the characters. But then again, objectively, are they that different from us, bungling through life, not seeing the patterns and repeating mistakes? It’s definitely not that different from me. Especially before my first mug of coffee…