Searching for the Elephant: One's Crazy, One's Horny and One's Non-Descript

Actor Lee Sang-woo needs to get a new agent. In Jhung S.K.'s Searching for the Elephant (a lopsided portrait of the tawdry affluence experienced by three childhood friends who never really grow up), Lee's saddled with a role so uninteresting that you wonder why he's in the movie at all. Compared to his co-star Jang Hyuk's schizophrenic who hallucinates hacked off fingers and photographs that reassemble in the shape of an elephant's head, and Jo Dong-hyeok's narcissistic plastic surgeon who can't stop screwing his patients because of his addiction to sex, Lee's part appears to be not so much a normal guy as a bland one. A financier with a mysterious history -- he disappeared for twelve years for reasons unknown -- Lee's businessman has invested in many money-making schemes but forgot to spend a little energy on a meaningful personality.

Maybe Lee's agent is prudish. Because the only other thing that distinguishes his character is the absence of screen time for his ass. Jang gives us two nice shots of his rear (one in the shower; the other, getting out of a pool); Jo can't help but share his bare bottom via a number of passionate sex scenes. The raunchiest Lee gets is sucking a paramour's toe while hidden, from the shoulders down, beneath a tubful of soap suds. Murder ensues because this paramour (Lee Min-jung) happens to be the wife of Jo's character and the sister of Jang's.

Who gets killed how eventually proves a bit farfetched, although what's bothersome about Searching for Elephants aren't the unanswered questions, it's the unrequested answers. Why do we need to learn the back story of Lee's renegade psychiatrist Dr. Jang (Hwang Woo-seul-hye)? Why do we have to watch antiqued footage of the three kids at the fair? Why can't Jin-hyeok exist in the Korean police's computer database? Each of these plot points suggest that the three screenwriters were getting paid by the minute (which would also explain the 2 1/2 hours running time).

Side Note: Time Warner Cable has Searching for the Elephant listed as Penthouse Playboys. Don't be tricked by the title. Neither movie is worth $5 via Movies on Demand.

Windstruck: He Died Then Went to Heaven on a Breeze

When you watch movies via websites like Mysoju, Todou or YouTube, they're often broken up into chapters, which alters your viewing experience for better or worse. With Windstruck, writer-director Kwak Jae-young's 2004 romance, serialization works in its favor. Here are eight mini-reviews encouraging you to view this feature as a web series.

Episode 1: First Encounter
Kooky cop Kyung-jin (Jun Gianna) mistakes Myung-woo (Jang Hyuk) for purse-snatcher then hauls him to station to charm coworkers by sketching portraits. Kyung-jin's clobbers Myung-woo then schoolkids. Love blooms

Episode 2: Hand in Hand
Handcuffed, Kyung-jin and Myung-woo land in middle of huge shootout. Back at the police station, Myung-woo goes ballistic, pretending to be crazed criminal to save Kyung-jin's rep. Love to the rescue!

Episode 3: Sudden Changes
Kyung-jin and Myung-woo become boyfriend and girlfriend while carrying groceries upstairs. While playing house, she reveals that she's an identical twin and her sister is dead. Meals are shared. Love deepens.

Episode 4: Drive
Myung-woo gets a jeep so they can bond to oldies music. Kyung-jin relates origination story of the pinky swear. An avalanche sends jeep into deep waters where Myung-woo drowns and Kyung-jin cries. Love's tragic.

Episode 5: Baby, Come Back
By pounding (in frustration) on his chest, Kyung-jin revives Myung-woo. When he's shot again as she's chasing bad guy Chang-soo (Jeong Ho-bin), Myung-woo dies again. Kyung-jin considers suicide. Love defies death.

Episode 6: Punk to the Rescue
Two runaways convince Kyung-jin to treat them to pizza instead of killing herself. She tries suicide afterward by jumping off a building yet survives. A paper airplane announces Myung-woo's soul. Love knows no boundaries.

Episode 7: A Second Chance
Kyung-jin tracks down Chang-soo then gets shot. Myung-woo's ghost re-appears minus one lung. He instructs her to go on without him. She agrees because she believes in reincarnation. Will love be reborn?

Episode 8: Wind
In a house filled with pinwheels, Kyung-jin and Myung-woo's ghost say good-bye so she can meet a new cutie (Cha Tae-hyun) on a subway platform. Love, baby, love!

Five Senses of Eros: Speak No Hot Sex, See No Hot Sex, Hear No Hot Sex

Memorable short films? I don't know many. Memorable short erotic films? I don't know any. The enervating anthology Five Senses of Eros didn't change that fact either, especially since there's actually not an arousingly erotic short in the bunch. The opener, Byun Hyuk's "His Concern," is a grating voiceover accompanied by images charting the first stage of a romance resulting from a chance encounter at a train station. (She's way too good for him even if he is played by matinee idol Jang Hyuk.) Number two -- Hur Jin-ho's "I'm Here" -- isn't much better: a twee 20 minutes of a husband (Kim Kang-woo) and wife (Cha Su-yeon) playing hide-and-seek even after she ends up dying of something or other. (This woman likes to spoon even when she's gone!)

On to the third mini movie "33rd Man" which gets more pornographic by kicking off with a naked humping couple undone once the ghost (Kim Gyu-ri) appears. She's not really a spook, mind you, she's simply an actress on a shoot with a frustrated director (Kim Su-ro) and an experienced leading lady (Bae Chong-ok) who oddly enough happens to be a bisexual vampiress. By film four, things get weirder and dykier. With Min Kyu-dong's "The End and the Beginning," now we've got a bitter, horny widow (Eom Jeong-hwa) who decides to shack up with the magician-girlfriend (Kim Hyo-jin) who her hunky husband (Hwang Jeong-min) was banging when he got killed in a car accident. (Just wait until she finds those S&M videotapes.)

Last and least erotic if most interesting is Oh Ki-hwan's "Believe in the Moment," a fragmentary little flick about six incredibly edible young things who confusedly swap partners as they struggle to find out the meaning of intimacy. Lots of kissing! No nudity! I've actually seen previous films by many of the writer-directors featured herein but I don't feel that any of them qualify as an auteur just yet. This project probably appealed to them as something to do before they got to work on a more serious project. Maybe they're auditioning actors. Maybe they're testing out cinematographers. Maybe they're trying to flesh out an idea about carnal desire or the eros-thanatos connection or a dream they once had but don't remember too clearly anymore. Maybe that's it. But only maybe.

Windstruck (Movie - 2004)

Directed by Kwak Jae-yong
Produced by Jeong Hun-tak
Music by Choi Seung-hyeon
Cinematography Jeong Han-cheol
Editing by Kim Sang-beom
Distributed by CJ Entertainment
Release date(s) June 3, 2004
Running time 123 min.
Cast :
* Jun Ji-hyun as Officer Kyung-jin Yeo
* Jang Hyuk as Myung-woo Go

Cerita diawali ketika Kyung Jin, seorang polisi wanita, salah menangkap orang. Ia malah menangkap Myung Woo, seorang guru fisika, yang juga sedang mengejar pencuri yang sebenarnya. Lalu mereka bertemu lagi ketika Myung woo menjadi sukarelawan dan terpaksa menemani Kyung Jin berpatroli ke jalan. Di jalan Kyung Jin sempat menghajar anak sekolahan yang berusaha melawannya. Namun ternyata anak itu adalah anak dari seorang mafia yang terkenal. Di saat Kyung Jin sedang diancam oleh Mafia itu, Myung Woo pun turun tangan membela Kyung jin dengan berpura-pura menjadi penjahat kelas kakap dan para mafia itupun takut lalu kabur.

Sejak itu Kyung Jin dan Myung Woo berpacaran. Mereka sempat pergi jalan-jalan ke sebuah padang rumput dan disana Myung Woo berkata "Jika aku mati nanti, aku ingin menjadi angin". Inilah dialog yang terkenal dari film ini. Dalam perjalanan pulang, mobil mereka sempat mengalami kecelakaan dan tercebur ke danau. Saat itu Myung Woo hampir saja mati namun Kyung Jin akhirnya dapat menyelamatkannya. Namun sepertinya Myung Woo emang sudah ditakdirkan untuk pergi lebih dulu. Tragisnya, ia malah mati tertembak oleh peluru dari pistol Kyung Jin yang meleset yang sebenarnya ditujukan untuk buronan yang sedang ia incar.

Karena merasa bersalah dan tidak ingin menerima kematiannya Myung woo, Kyung Jin pun sempat untuk mencoba bunuh diri beberapa kali namun selalu gagal. Sampai akhirnya Kyung Jin merasakan bahwa Myung woo menghampirinya sebagai angiin. Akhirnya ia mencoba untuk bertahan hidup untuk membalaskan kematian Myung woo dengan menangkap buronan yang waktu itu belum tertangkap. Sejak itu Kyung Jin menjadi polisi berdarah dingin yang tidak takut mati. Dan pada akhirnya ia berhasil menangkap buronan tersebut. Adegan terakhir adalah di stasiun kereta bawah tanah, Kyung Jin bertemu dengan seorang pria dan ia merasa bahwa pria ini dikirimkan Myung woo untuknya. THE END.

Baru kali ini aku ngereview film dari awal sampai akhir. Karena menurutku pasti para penggemar korea semua sudah menonton film ini. Aku hanya menceritakan kembali karena menurutku film ini cukup bagus. Karena aku pernah membahas My Sassy Girl, makanya aku juga coba ngebahas Windstruck yang sama-sama dibintangi oleh Jun Ji Hyun. Banyak yang bilang bahwa film ini merupakan My Sassy Girl 2, aku sendiri tidak tahu kenapa. Tapi setelah aku nonton ulang film ini, kayanya aku tahu alasannya. Adegan terakhir di stasiun bawah tanah saat Kyung Jin ketemu seorang pria, pria itu adalah Cha Tae Hyun yang main My Sassy Girl. Entah apa maksudnya sang sutradara menampilakan Cha Tae Hyun di adegan terakhir, mungkin memang sengaja agar kita berpersepsi bahwa My Sassy Girl dan Windstruck saling berhubungan karena memang kedua film ini disutradarai oleh orang yang sama. Tapi itu sih tergantung pendapat masing-masing orang yang menontonnya. Menurutku sih ga ada hubungannya sama sekali.

Kalau disuruh memilih antara My Sassy Girl dan Widstruck, aku lebih memilih My Sassy Girl. Menurutku Windstruck bagus ketika diawal, tapi setelah Myung woo meninggal kurang begitu seru lagi. Terus menurutku adegan berangin-angin nya terlalu berlebihan. Memang maksudnya agar kyung jin menyadari bahwa Myung woo datang sebagai angin, namun tetap saja menurutku berlebihan. Tapi aku tetap suka adegan itu soalnya pas adegan itu ostnya aku suka. Tears dari X-Japan. I love this song. Dari dulu aku emang suka X-Japan. Bagus. Untuk kesulurahan film ini aku kasih nilai 75.

 

 

Thank You (Drama - 2007)

Directed by Lee Jae-dong (이재동)
Screenplay by Lee Kyeong-hee (이경희)
•Drama •Melodrama •Romance
MBC | Airing dates : 2007/03/21~2007/05/10
Cast :
Jang Hyeok As Min Gi So
Kong Hyo-jin As Lee Yong Shin
Seo Sin-ae As Lee Bom
Sin Seong-rok As Choi Suk-hyun
Sin Goo As Mr.Lee


16 episodes

Min Gi So adalah seorang dokter yang sangat handal namun sangat arrogant. Ia bertekad untuk menyembuhkan Ji MIn, kekasihnya yang memiliki pernyakit kanker pankreas. Namun saat operasi ternyata sel kanker pada tubuh Ji Min sudah menyebar dan sangat sulit untuk mengangkatnya sehingga ia terpaksa menghentikan operasi itu.

Di saat terakhirnya, Ji Min sempat bercerita bahwa ia mempunyai penyesalan selama hidupnya dan ingin sekali menebusnya selama sisa waktu hidupnya. Ji Min juga adalah seorang dokter. Dulu tanpa sengaja ia telah menyebabkan seorang anak kecil bernama Lee Bom terkena penyakit AIDS. Untuk itu ia ingin sekali bertemu anak itu dan meminta maaf. Ia lalu naik kapal untuk pergi menemui anak itu dengan didampingi Min Gi So. Sebelumnya Ji Min telah membeli boneka Teddy Bear yang sangat besar untuk dihadiahkan pada anak yang terkena AIDS itu.

Di dalam kapal, Ji Min melihat Lee Bom sedang berbicara dengan kakeknya. Ia pun lalu memberikan boneka itu lalu tertidur untuk selamanya di pundak Lee Bom. Sejak kematian Ji Min, Min Gi So tidak ingin menjadi dokter lagi. Ia lalu bekerja di perusahaan ibunya. Di perusahaan itu Min Gi So bertemu dengan Choi Suk Hyun, orang kepercayaan ibunya. Mereka berdua lalu ditugaskan untuk pergi ke suatu desa yang sekaligus merupakan kampung halaman Choi Suk Hyun.

Desa yang dimaksud ternyata adalah tempat dimana Lee Bom tinggal. Di desa itu Min Gi So sempat menolong seseorang yang sedang sekarat. Sejak itulah ia menjadi dokter yang terkenal di desa itu. Min Gi So juga bertemu dengan Lee Bom yang membawa boneka pemberian Ji Min. Min Gi So sempat berebut boneka dengan Lee Bom. Tapi sejak mengetahui bahwa Lee Bom adalah anak yang terkena AIDS maka ia pun mengalah. Sejak itu Min Gi So tinggal di rumah Lee Bom dengan menyewa kamar kosong yang ada di rumah itu.

Lee Bom mempunyai seorang ibu bernama Lee Yong Shin dan kakek yang biasa di sebut dengan Mr.Lee. Karena tinggal bersama dalam waktu yang cukup lama membuat hubungan Min Gi So dan keluarga Lee Bom semakin dekat. Bahkan ia pun akhirnya jatuh cinta pada Lee Yong Shin.

Masalah datang ketika Choi Suk Hyun datang dan berkata pada Min Gi So bahwa Lee Bom adalah anak kandungnya. Tidak hanya itu, perihal penyakit AIDS yang diderita Lee Bom pun akhirnya menyebar keseluruh desa hingga para penduduk desa menjauhi keluarga Lee Bom dan mencoba mengusir mereka dari desa.

Makna yang terkandung yang bisa aku tangkap dari film ini adalah selalu bersyukur dengan keadaan apapun. Lee Yong Shin selalu mengajarkan Lee Bom dan Mr. Lee untuk selalu berkata terima kasih. Ia juga percaya bahwa dunia itu indah, sesuai dengan lagu yang pernah ia ajarkan ke Lee Bom yang berjudul "Arumdaum sesang"(dunia yang indah).

Ada dialog yang aku suka di film ini, yaitu saat Min Gi So berkata pada Yong Shin "Mempunyai AIDS itu bukan suatu kesalahan tapi hanya berbeda saja. Seperti orang yang matanya besar sebelah, atau yang kakinya pendek sebelah, atau yang jempolnya besar."

Film ini mempunyai kesan yang dalem banget bagi yang telah menontonnya. Selain karena bertema sosial yaitu tentang AIDS juga karena cerita yang disajikan tidak membosankan, ditambah akting para pemain di film ini sangat alami. Apalagi didukung oleh suasana pedesaan yang indah. Lagu-lagu soundtracknya juga sangat mendukung. Kalau disuruh beri nilai antara 1-10 mungkin aku akan ngasih nilai...11. hehehe.... soalnya emang bagus.

Please Teach Me English: No White Actors Speak Korean

I got this Kim Sung-su movie not because of how much I loved his Musa: The Warriors but because I honestly have begun to feel guilty about not knowing any Korean. I thought maybe the classroom scenes in Please Teach Me English would include simple translations like how to say "My name is Drew" or "It looks like rain." (It's "Che eerum-un Drew imneeda" and "Piga ol goht katahyo" if you're curious although I had to look up those two phrases online.) But there was nothing to learn like that here. Not only was I not building my Korean vocabulary but I was repeatedly cringing as actress Angela Kelly (who plays the English teacher) was having her Korean lines dubbed by another performer. Oh, the horror! The shame! With no useful lessons to be found, this hokey film must be judged as rom-com alone. Well, it fails as a romance since there's no chemistry between the pining dork of a clerical cog (Lee Na-yeong) and the cute shoe salesman (Jang Hyuk) who's eager to learn English because his long-list sister is returning from America. And it fails as a comedy since it's laughs are based on the idea that it's funny to see a pretty actress act goofy while wearing eyeglasses. I bet an actual instructional video would be funnier. If I learned the word for love, it would be more romantic too.

Volcano High: The Remedial Students of Chopsocky

I sense two possibilities here. The first is that writer-director Kim Tae-gyun commissioned a storyboard for Volcano High but was given a manhwa (a Korean manga) instead. The second is that he found the manhwa first and used it as his storyboard. Either way, this movie is really just a series of four-color panels in which actors do everything overemphatically as they strive to become cartoons. There's plenty of talk about destiny, screams shouted at the heavens, and even guys with superpowers and Matrix coats. But character development and a nuanced plot.... Well, you'll have to look elsewhere for those. You won't find much comedy either despite all the hammy acting and a ludicrous storyline about rebelious students who want to rule the high school by getting access to a magical scroll. I'll be damned if I could figure out who I was supposed to cheer on: the dorky blonde transfer student (Jang Hyuk), the ice princess (Shin Min-a) who helms the Kendo team, or a group of adult outsiders brought in as disciplinarians. MTV re-edited the film then dubbed it with hip hop artists (Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Mya) and I say why not. For all its excesses, Volcano High has very little to recommend it in its original form. It's hyper-boring.

Jungle Juice: Stupid Is as Stupid Does

Take out all the curse words in Jungle Juice and you'd be left with a silent movie colorized with Dayglo spraypaint. This cornball comedy's two numbskull-punks (Jang Hyuk and Lee Beom-su) cuss if they're bragging, cuss if they're clowning around, and cuss if someone's smacking them silly...which happens pretty often. The non-stop profanities and the aggressively bloody slapstick which, true to the word's roots, really does involve equal parts slap and stick, quickly gets tedious given the lack of plot in the meandering first half. By the time an actual story emerges -- involving stolen cocaine, intra-gang warfare, and a prostitute who goes by the name of Meg Ryan (Jeon Hye-jin), writer-director Cho Min-ho has his work cut out for him in terms of winning over an audience. That he does even partially is kind of amazing. The final halfhour is tight: multiple storylines intertwine and the goofy highjinks take on unexpected gravitas. In the end, it's still a stupid buddy pic with yuk-yuk gags and actors making silly faces but you're also clued in to the fact that Cho's capable of much more. He's the class clown who's smarter than he'd like to admit. Hey Cho! There's nothing wrong with being brainy. Try it sometime.