YONHAP NEWS

(Movie Review) Being 'too pretty' a minus in teen flick

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- A young Korean-American adoptee who returns to her homeland after 23 years. A boy who has never left home and believes Seoul's central Han River is the prettiest on earth. As different as night is from day, the two embark on a tumultuous journey of discovery where they ultimately find new hope for love.

"Maybe (Tokkiwa rijeod)," invited to this year's Pusan International Film Festival's Korean Cinema Today: Panorama section, is a pretty movie featuring a pretty actress and a handsome actor on the prettiest streets of Seoul.

But because it lacks a convincing plot, the debut by newcomer Ju Ji-hong has the feel of a lengthy music video rather than a feature film.

May (Seong Yu-ri) says all she wants to know is how she got the scar on her shoulder, which resembles a lizard and holds the key to her identity and past. A long-standing grudge fueled by the absence of her parents has made her sullen and resentful of those around her.

   Eun-seol (Jang Hyuk) is a young taxi driver suffering from a rare heart disease. With the clock ticking he looks past May's rough exterior, hoping to help retrace her past as he waits for his own untimely death. During their journey, he often returns to the theme of a "red rabbit" named hope.

   Under the Korean title of "Rabbit and Lizard," the film weaves past and present as the relationship between the two evolves.

   Although the overall effect of Ju's movie is disappointing, a solid soundtrack and refined cinematography attests to the potential of the French-trained newcomer.

While studying at FEMIS, France's national film school, Ju directed such outstanding shorts as "Deal (2000)," "Image Thief (2000)," "Night (2001)" and "Dead Angel (2001)," being selected a New Generation director by Paris-Berlin Art Action and lauded by several European film events.

   Upon graduation, Ju won the Centre National de la Cinematographie's (French film council) scenario contest with his "Le Mal de Dents," later produced into his first feature starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Laura Smet in 2004.

   "Maybe" is Ju's first feature film produced in Korea.

   "I wanted to create a new melodrama with its focus on healing internal wounds," Ju said after the movie's preview Monday. "I am satisfied with how Seong Yu-ri and Jang Hyuk understood and expressed the characters."

   The movie, with a running time of 101 minutes, will hit local cinemas beginning Oct. 22.

   hayney@yna.co.kr
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