Mai jeneoreisheon

I really wanted to like this Korean-slackers-in-trouble movie but the director/writer really goes out of his way to bore, baffle and annoy the viewer. While the baffling part could be due to unfamiliarity with certain aspects of Korean economy and culture (what is the credit card "scam" about?) the boring part part certainly cannot. Long empty shots are sometimes just that. Minimalist acting doesn't mean NO acting. A female protagonist who inexplicably acts retarded does not make me sympathise, it makes me want to kill her (OK at least stop the DVD). The ending? I still don't understand whether this was a "tender" moment straight out of "The Gift of the Magi" or just another long empty shot.

The film isn't a total loss, there's some fine secondary players, and the B&W cinematography is really good but in the end it's not time well spent and it's hard to figure why this was a (small) success on the festival circuit.