Gudseura Geum-suna (2002)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Nam-seob Hyeon

Release Date:

11 October 2002 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama

Cast

Du-na Bae	...	Jeong Geum-sun
Tae-woo Kim	...	Han Ju-tae
Hyeon Ju	...	Baek-sa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ji-hye Han
Mun-hee Na

Also Known As:

Be Strong, Geum-sun (International: English title) (literal title)
Saving My Hubby (International: English title)

Runtime:

South Korea:91 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12

Company:

Ines Films

Light-weight but delightful entertainment, expertly crafted

Gudseura Geum-suna aka Saving My Hubby (really "Be strong, Geum-sun") (HYEON Nam-seob, 2002)

One might write off this comparatively light-weight tale of a young-married house-wife having the worst day of her life as an amusing trifle (at best) except for two things -- the wonderful lead performance of BAE Doo-na and the excellent cinematography of CHOI Yeong-kwan.

Geun-sum (played by BAE) was a star volley ball player until her career was ended by a shoulder industry. Bereft of purpose after her injury, she is consoled (and gotten pregnant) by a nice, but rather gumption-less young man. Pre-occupied by sports, Geun-sum did not learn much in the way of house-keeping skills -- and it shows. The film begins with her husband getting ready to set off to work on a new job (after a long search) and looking for his good white shirt. Not only has Geun-sum forgotten to iron it, but she burns it (getting distracted by her year-old baby swallowing something she oughtn't). "Don't worry, it's on the back -- just don't take off your jacket and no one will notice it", she consoles her spouse. After he sets off for work, his parents call (from out of town), they will be arriving early the next morning for a visit. Rather than coming home promptly to help clean up their more than a little chaotic abode, her husband is compelled to go out dining and drinking and drinking... with his new colleagues. When he finally pulls himself away, over the objections of his new (not entirely well-wishing boss), he falls into the hands of an unscrupulous bunch of scammers (their game is picking up half-drunk victims taking them to their bar and running up an outrageously inflated tab -- then demanding that family members pay up promptly or else). The bulk of the movie consists of Geun-sum's effort to find the rather obscure dive of the blackmailers (all the while with Baby strapped on to her back) and get back in time to clean the apartment in time for the arrival of her dreaded (and apparrently rather "starchy") in-laws. Along the way, she winds up in the middle of a gang war -- and is pursued by some of the mobsters herself.

BAE Doo-na may have the biggest eyes of any actress I've ever seen. When her eyes are wide open (not a rare occurrence), she virtually has the appearance of an anime sweetheart. Her talent is not limited to wide-eyed gazing, however. She seems to have a wonderful sense of comedic timing -- but she can be as hard-nosed as she can be sweet and charming. I look forward to seeing her in many more roles.