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…
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