Oh! Soo-jung (2000)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Sang-soo Hong

Writer:

Sang-soo Hong (writer)

Release Date:

27 May 2000 (South Korea)

Plot:

Relationship filled with pitfalls between a pleasant female video producer and a gallery owner as they become embroiled in their self-spun web of illusions. Bitter-sweet serenade to modern courtship.

Plot Keywords:

Producer | Hand Job | Seoul Korea | Virginity | Female Nudity

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Eun-ju Lee	...	Soo-jung
Seong-kun Mun	...	Young-soo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Myeong-gu Han
Jeong Ho-Bong
Lee Hwang-Ui
Bo-seok Jeong	...	Jae-hoon
Yeong-dae Kim
Song Mi-Jung
Mi-hyeon Park
Cho Ryeon
Cho Won-Hee
Seon Yu		(as Yu-Seon Wang)

Also Known As:

Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (International: English title)

Runtime:

Netherlands:126 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | France:U | Hong Kong:III | South Korea:18

Company:

Mirashin Korea

Trivia:

The last Sang-soo Hong film to use a traditional script.

Movie Connections:

References The Untouchables (1987)

Seeing double

Well, here's a Korean movie that even lovers of Godard (and Bergman, to a lesser extent) might love. Shot in radiant black-and-white (gorgeous), this film tells the story of a young woman Soo-jung (LEE Eun-Joo), "courted" by one acquaintance (and also pursued by her boss) in two equal parts -- first from the perspective (mostly) of the young woman's would-be lover, and then (from the top) from the woman's point of view (but again, mainly only mostly). Sometimes the matching scenes are almost identical, other times they are radically different. Most interesting, however, are the matches when only relatively small details are slightly differently remembered (?). This could be sterile and abstract (and some critics have complained), but I found it quite accessible and enjoyable. Our heroine's sensibilities seem a bit more robust (despite her virginal state) than those of either of her men -- and the "second time around" of the story often seems a bit more humorous. Due to my imperfect memory, several viewing will be required until I can pull all the pierces of this film together. Nonetheless, I'd say this is very much worth watching.