Oh! Soo-jung (2000)

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 | Snow | Older Man Younger Woman Relationship | Hand Job | On Off Relationship

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)

Directed by
Sang-soo Hong

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sang-soo Hong		writer

Produced by
Byoung-ju Ahn	....	producer
In-gi Choi	....	producer

Original Music by
Kil-sung Ok

Cinematography by
Yeong-taek Choi

Film Editing by
Sung-won Ham

Art Direction by
Seok-Jae Choi

Costume Design by
Ji-hyang Kang
Yoo-seon Kim

Sound Department
Weon-chul Oh	....	sound
Dong-seok Yim	....	sound

Other crew
Ellen Kim	....	international marketing manager

Production Companies

• Mirashin Korea

Distributors

• Buena Vista Korea (2000) (Korea) (theatrical)
• ASC Distribution

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)

Some meat for the mind, but casual movie-goers beware

The Virgin Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors is director Hong Sang Soo's third feature and has some unique characteristics. First of all, it's in black and white. So far his only film to feature that trait. It also has the feature of showing two perspectives on the same events.

But don't worry, not all falls far from the Hongian tree. Hong's acutely observant irony (some might even say cynicism) is present and accounted for. There is at the very least, a love triangle present. Sex and power through sex makes its regular appearance and all the players present are strong. The story itself is shown from the perspectives of the courter, Jaehoon, a wealthy man, and Soojung, a writer who happens to be a virgin. The story itself is rather simple, focusing primarily on moments during their courtship.

The most notable thing is, of course, the dual perspective structure. Hong doesn't appear to be using it like Akira Kurosawa does in Rashoman. In fact, even though I've seen this twice, I'm still trying to resolve just how he makes this device work. It's obvious that it shows two perspectives, but the differences in occurrences aren't merely a matter of self-justification for the perspective holders. It's clearly showing what the two leads are projecting into their memory, as well as how they are using their own memories to justify their behavior or make the present seem better. Still, I think there are more layers to this film than just that.

Virgin is a very cerebral film. It asks you to pay attention as you essentially watch versions of the same film twice. And it's almost like solving a puzzle. Unfortunately, this also leaves the film difficult to access and so I can't recommend it to casual movie-viewers, even less so than other Hong films. Yet, as I was watching it, I became more and more curious and thoughtful of the characters' perspectives. However, that still didn't prevent me from struggling to pay attention as the characters and story are not very dynamic. I don't necessarily think they are meant to be; this is clearly an art film--and while it has entertainment value, you really have to be alert for its subtle comedy and dig for some of the irony present.

So, all in all, I have to say that this is perhaps the most brain-intensive Hong film I've seen so far and also manages to contain some of the most gorgeous shots I've seen in Corean cinema, and even amongst all the movies I've seen. This is not for a casual movie-goer and might even leave some art-film lovers cold, but it still managed to dig its way into my brain and I can't help but ponder about it. But for its strengths, I have to say it's actually quite impressive. That said, this is not a place to go for straight up entertainment. 8/10.