ACF 1395: OKI'S MOVIE reviewed; showing tonight at MoMI

Oki (left) and Jingu at Mt. Acha

Oki's Movie / Ok-hui-ui yeonghwa

Directed by HONG Sang-soo

With Jeong Yu-mi, Lee Seon-gyun 

South Korea, 2010, 80 minutes 

When: Friday, March 23, 2012 @ 7:00 PM 

Where: Museum of the Moving Image

35th Avenue at 37th Street, Astoria, Queens

From midtown, taxi or N/Q Train outbound to 36th Avenue

HONG Sang-soo is a South Korean director whose works I have only recently encountered. But with the plethora of Korean films that have been playing in New York over the past few weeks, I've now seen four. Oki's Movie is both the most recent of his films that I've seen and the one that I saw most recently. Tonight it will be shown at the Museum of the Moving Image, closingg out The Korea Society's retrospective of five of HONG's films.

Oki and Jingu in bed

The film is about a love triangle that involves (in the order in which we meet them): Jingu, a young filmmaker and heavy drinker; Professor Song of the film department; and Oki, another filmmaker. It is divided into four sections, the last one sharing the movie's title. In this the film is different from the other three of HONG's films that I've seen thus far. Each of them tend to be bifurcated in some way. Woman is the Future of Man (2004) takes place in two towns or cities. Tale of Cinema (2005) consists of two separate, yet related, story lines. Like You Know It All (2009), like Woman is the future of Man, takes place at two separate locales.

Oki and Professor Song at Mt. Acha

On the other hand, Oki's Movie shares a number of characteristics with the other three films. Each has a young male filmmaker as either the main character or one of the main characters. (Oki's Film, as I've mentioned, also has a female film director as a main protagonist.) In each there is a lot of eating and even more drinking going on. And the four films share stylistic consistencies such as basically static, tripod-mounted camera that utilizes occasional slow zooms.

HONG Sang-soo is a well-respected art house director, and I've come to understand and appreciate his works more with each film I've seen. Oki's Movie has contributed significantly to that progression, and I must confess that I look forward to revisiting it before long.  A film definitely worth seeing.

ACF Rating: 3 out of 4 stars; solidly recommended