Noksaek uija (2005)

Director:

Cheol-su Park

Writers:

Jun-han Kim (writer)
Chul-soo Park (writer)

Release Date:

10 June 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

When an ordinary housewife is convicted for seducing a minor, reckless love leads to obsession and creeping doubt. |

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Sex | Ex Husband | Coming Of Age | Sexuality | Flashback Sequence

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jung Suh	...	Kim Mun-hee
Ji-ho Shim	...	Seo-hyun
Yun-hong Oh	...	Su-jin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeon-han Kim	...	Journalist

Also Known As:

Green Chair (International: English title)

Runtime:

South Korea:98 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:16 (Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18

Company:

Park Chul-Soo Films Ltd.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The film stated that Seo-hyun had sex with Kim Mun-hee before his 18th birthday which caused Mun-hee to be charged for underage sex, but the actual age of consent in South Korea is 13.

Quotes:

Kim Mun-hee: Was that your first time?
Seo-hyun: No, I do it everyday with my friends...
Kim Mun-hee: No, not that. With a woman.
Seo-hyun: I almost did once, but the girl had a muscle spasm.
[smiles]
Kim Mun-hee: We should go.
Seo-hyun: Hey, can we do it again?
Kim Mun-hee: I think we're good for today.
Seo-hyun: Then there's a next time?
Kim Mun-hee: We'll see.

Movie Connections:

References WaSanGo (2001)

Man, woman, love, sex, eat, drink, sleep, repeat

After witnessing Cheol-su Park's few intriguing cinematic jolts, I knew this film would at least be as fascinating as his other work, even if not easily and visually digestible to a human eye.

It starts out with the release of the woman convicted of having sex with a minor. After a little heckle from the reporters the young man approaches and we see their long awaited reunion and their total carelessness toward the swarming of the press.

The remainder of the film showcases their insatiable lust for sex, Hyun's Iron Chef-like cooking abilities and Mun-hee's new duty as a social worker in a mental house for elders. They also have few struggles and debates regarding their future but instead of drilling us with heavy sentimentality they make everything work with simple humor and their natural chemistry. My only complaint is that perhaps they could have showed us how they actually hit it off, but I guess that's already obvious and would only prolong the good pacing of the film.

There are moments when you are about to rule out the believability of a certain situation, but just as you might, the director reveals it to be an imagination sequence, which really helps the film to highlight the realistic modesty of their unique relationship. The final scene in particular was a very refreshing way to a end a film which could have gone into many different directions. It's not completely conclusive and satisfying, but it's neither frustrating, forced nor depressing, which is why I ultimately enjoyed this film, because that's just how life is sometimes.

I only wish that Lifetime movies dealing with forbidden sex were this insightful and stimulating, but that would be like wishing for Hollywood to stop remaking Asian films.