TAKE CARE OF MY CAT (2001)
Take Care of My Cat Sun, Jun 25 | 3pm | TMT
Jeong Jae-eun’s debut feature, Take Care of My Cat , beautifully captures the essence of camaraderie between five high school girls and how their dynamics shift as they enter adulthood. Five friends grow apart as their lives take them in different directions until a stray cat shows up. Jeong’s sophisticated perceptions of girlhood and womanhood are employed in her intricate cinematic language used to portray friendships and the way environment and life changes influence relationships. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Jeong Jae-eun. WITH: Bae Doona, Lee Yo-won, Ok Ji-young. 2001. 112 min. Korea. Color. Korean. DCP.
NEXT SOHEE (2022)
Next Sohee Thu, Jun 22 | 7:30pm | TMT
Bae Doona ( The Host ) plays a detective investigating the death of high school senior Sohee, an apprentice at a call center where horrific, exploitative working conditions are common practice. Based on a true story, Next Sohee depicts the jarring reality of marginalized workers in a society that values inhumane competitiveness while promoting compliance in the name of the “common good.” Jung July’s insightful criticism on a capitalistic society that justifies oppression is manifested through the endless cycles of devastation and destruction in which Sohee, and many other “next Sohees,” are placed. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Jung July. WITH: Bae Doona, Kim Si-eun. 2022. 138 min. Korea. Color. Korean. DCP.
PAJU (2009)
Paju Thu, Jun 29 | 7:30pm | TMT
Crush and Blush Sat, Jun 24 | 3pm | TMT
Park Chan-ok’s second feature swims through the complex layers of humanity. Eun-mo is suspicious of her brother-in- law Joong-sik for her sister’s death, yet somehow helplessly gravitates toward him. Park’s mastery of storytelling contours the seemingly tranquil base tonality, with a perfect amount of grey, cold, and melancholy. Eun-mo’s love for Joong-sik also becomes a suffocation of its own, and Park’s brilliance blurs the dichotomous line of outcomes, navigating audiences through the unknown particles in everything, including human feeling. Paju is a lesson in letting go of one’s desire in the hopes of understanding everything. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Park Chan-ok. WITH: Seo Woo, Lee Sun-kyun, Han Ye-ri, Shim Yi-young. 2009. 111 min. Korea. Color. Korean. 35mm. Print courtesy of KOFA.
Lee Kyoung-mi’s debut film Crush and Blush is a delightful comedy featuring Kong Hyo-jin. Co-written with Park Eun-gyo and Park Chan-wook, the film centers around Yang Mi-sook, a high school teacher who struggles with a chronic condition that causes her face to turn extremely red, especially under stressful circumstances. The drama begins when she shamelessly pursues a married colleague, who was once her teacher, after ten years of an enduring crush. Determined to succeed in her love mission, she boldly marches on embracing herself, however seemingly unpopular or uninteresting. DIRECTED BY: Lee Kyoung-mi. WRITTEN BY: Lee Kyoung-mi, Park Eun-gyo, Park Chan-wook. WITH: Kong Hyo-jin, Lee Jong-hyuk, Seo U, Hwang-woo Seul-hye. 2008. 101 min. Korea. Color. Korean. DCP.
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