A failed artist or a sad tale of human relationships ! ! ! !

Daijiga umule pajinnal (1996) directed by Hong Sang Soo

Watching Hong Sang Soo's first film "Daijiga umule pajinnal" is going to be an extremely uneasy visual experience for all casual as well as average viewers.This is because one will surely find it hard to understand whether the film is a portrait of a failed artist or an absurdist tale of highly unusual,bizarre human relationships.I managed to see this film at the campus of Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines at Lyon in company of a friend from South Korea.She made the viewing interesting for me with her comic remarks as being a Korean person,she is definitely more familiar with intricacies of Korean cultural life.This key association with Korean psyche is needed to understand what this film stands for.A word about our film's failed artist.He is rather controversial,bit moody and picks up fights too often with his colleagues.This is something which might be true of many talented artists all over the world.A different view of this film might concern Hong Sang Soo's observation that his film is a complex tale of human relationships as all the characters of his films are in troubled relationships without ascertaining what made them enter into them.

It is about about human moods which are never the same ! ! ! !

Kangwon-do ui him (1998) directed by Hong Sang Soo

Let us begin by saying that this film's English title "The Power of Kangwon Province" is an absolute misnomer.It is because in Hong Sang Soo's film,there are no actual shots of wars,troubles and conflicts.So the idea of establishing power of a province is neither suitable nor valid in the context of this film.If we were to judge this film by its Korean language title,"Kangwon-do ui him" is going to appear as a cryptic statement about emotional turmoils of its young protagonists whose minds are not at rest.Hong Sang Soo has also directed a highly prolific visual document about erratic choices made by people in their lives.The people in question are a couple of young girls who are constantly in the process of displaying their moods,whims and fancies. If making a film out of nothingness can be claimed as a film maker's meritorious virtue then Hong Sang Soo has to be saluted as a courageous film maker whose films speak volumes about ubiquitous nothingness of human relationships,sentiments and lives.Whether one likes it or not,this is the only fair conclusion that be deduced from this particular film.