David O'ConnellMIFF 2010: Paju/Leap Year
July 29th 2010 04:31
Paju
Being a staunch supporter of Korean cinema it pains me to say this, but Paju is the most uninteresting, creatively barren film to ever make its way out of that country. It’s been six years since director Park Chan-ok’s last film, and frankly if she takes another six years to produce her next work, it’ll be too soon.
Set in the rural district of Paju, this unwieldy mess of a tale centres on a couple of people who venture there to escape ghosts from their past. A man (Lee Sun Kyun) and his sister-in-law (Seo Woo) who seems to have always despised him - and suspects him of murdering her sister - circle one another against the backdrop of dreary rural life and the injection of a social upheaval theme as residents of apartment buildings fight to prevent their homes from being demolished by progressive bureaucrats.
A horrific domestic accident involving a small child opens the film, but two hours later it remains the only jarring, emotionally scarring moment of celluloid Park has to offer her audience. The interplay between the main players is trite and broken up by occasional flashbacks in time that only contribute further to the general confusion as to where this is heading. Nowhere interesting I assure you.
There’s no fascinating dynamic upon which to build audience interest and when the resolution surrenders itself to cheap melodramatic flourishes that feel like the worse kind of contrivance, the final verdict is sealed: Paju is bland, overdrawn, vague and painfully mediocre. And those are its good points.
Monica del Carmen
Leap Year
Leap Year is a difficult film to love. A low-budget Mexican feature set entirely in the apartment of a freelance journalist, it’s the directorial debut of a Victorian in Ballarat born Michael Rowe who migrated to Mexico 16 years ago. The film charts a month in the life of despondent and lonely Laura (Monica del Carmen) who seemingly only ventures out of her apartment to pick up men for random sex. Increasingly these encounters become more confronting as she turns her attention to one partner in particular.
During the day Laura lazes about watching lifeless daytime TV or talking to her mother on the phone with minimal enthusiasm. She continually fabricates stories that make her existence seem far more interesting and interactive than it really is.
Rowe establishes his bleak tone early on, subjecting us to sex scenes that rather than evoke any eroticism, are more concerned with the mechanics of the act. Life, death, sex and violence are placed under the microscope to be probed for interconnecting lines but his conclusions are the stuff of amateur pyschology textbooks.
Laura ominously colours the final day of the month in red on her calendar. What will her month of promiscuity culminate in? It’s hardly a fun-filled ride reaching this destination, with Rowe provocatively and dangerously skirting the boundaries of taste along the way. There’s a meager sub-plot involving Laura's brother which has a bearing on the final outcome but rather than provide a spark it only sours our final impression furthur.
In isolation, there are elements to admire in Leap Year, but most of the film is depressingly rudimentary in nature - repellent even, and it’s undoubtedly a punishing experience. This will be a rough night at the cinema for most and the fact that Rowe was awarded the Camera d'Or recently for Best First Feature is furthur proof that this year Cannes Film Festival wasn't up to scratch.
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Comment by Anonymous
I thought it did have something to say about the persistence and effects of trauma and guilt on our lives.
It also shone some light on an interesting social issue by documenting the fight to save the apartment complex.
The two leads- Lee Seon-gyun as Joong-shik and especially Seo Woo as Eun-mo were also very good I thought.
You bag the hell out of this one, while mind-numbing crap like The Losers gets a free pass!!!!?
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Cassavetes series has begun! Keep your eyes peeled over the next three weeks - its gonna be intensive, there's nothing I dont know about the man
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
You never know, you just might love The Losers one day!!
Train wrecks do indeed make occasionally compelling viewing Shaun!
Look forward to your Cassavetes coverage mate!
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic