My Scary Girl is a surprise hit in Korea this year, shot in HD, and made with a budget of $800 000, it ended up grossing more than $2 million dollars in the box-office. (it was pretty much an experiment by two companies in low-budget filmmaking) Curious by its success (and this review here), and intrigued by its title (obviously a reference to my all-time favourite Korean romance, My Sassy Gal) I acquired the film in methods I won't divulge here.
Anyway, the film is about a 30-year-old school teacher (I wasn't sure whether he was teaching in high school or university, the subtitles were vague) called Dae Woo (Park Yong-Woo) who never had any luck with women despite being totally cultured, intelligent and articulate. Then, things changed when he meets a pretty art graduate (Choi Kang-Hee) who lives in the apartment below his and asks her out. However, he soon discovers that his girlfriend may be hiding something... like a corpse in her apartment.
But that's pretty much it. A simple premise that begins like a fluffy and sweet little romantic comedy, but with rather dark undertones and such as it goes on. However, unlike your generic big budget Korean romance, it doesn't really go over the top melodramatic and emotional. There's no annoying montage coupled with a syrupy Korean ballad sung by a guy with a high falsetto. Thank goodness. The girlfriend's murderous tendencies are underplayed (she just, ah, kills, like eating rice) and never justified (with some lame backstory about her being sexually molested and wanting to get her revenge on all men, haiyah!), so it's all good.
Well, I don't think there's much to say about the film. It's enjoyable, funny, and thankfully less bloated than those star vehicles. The ending's rather surprising for its open-endedness. Not something I would watch twice, but the one time I watch it was pleasant enough.
Related read:
Interview with director Son Jae-Gon
Anyway, the film is about a 30-year-old school teacher (I wasn't sure whether he was teaching in high school or university, the subtitles were vague) called Dae Woo (Park Yong-Woo) who never had any luck with women despite being totally cultured, intelligent and articulate. Then, things changed when he meets a pretty art graduate (Choi Kang-Hee) who lives in the apartment below his and asks her out. However, he soon discovers that his girlfriend may be hiding something... like a corpse in her apartment.But that's pretty much it. A simple premise that begins like a fluffy and sweet little romantic comedy, but with rather dark undertones and such as it goes on. However, unlike your generic big budget Korean romance, it doesn't really go over the top melodramatic and emotional. There's no annoying montage coupled with a syrupy Korean ballad sung by a guy with a high falsetto. Thank goodness. The girlfriend's murderous tendencies are underplayed (she just, ah, kills, like eating rice) and never justified (with some lame backstory about her being sexually molested and wanting to get her revenge on all men, haiyah!), so it's all good.
Well, I don't think there's much to say about the film. It's enjoyable, funny, and thankfully less bloated than those star vehicles. The ending's rather surprising for its open-endedness. Not something I would watch twice, but the one time I watch it was pleasant enough.
Related read:
Interview with director Son Jae-Gon
