[HanCinema's Film Review] "Ssanahee Sunjung"

Mr. Yoo (played by Jun Suk-ho) is a writer who suddenly views city life as tolerable. So he grabs a train and runs off to the rural village of Magari. He manages to be alone for...only a few minutes really. Then the local farmer Won-bo (played by Park Myung-hoon) pops up and asks what Mr. Yoo's doing out there. Mr. Yoo asks if there's any place nearby he can stay, and that's how "Ssanahee Sunjung" gets started.

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"Ssanahee Sunjung" is a very quiet story, to the extent it can really be called a story at all. As far as actual plot goes, we have maybe a few scenes detailing Won-bo's family life. This includes his son, played Kim Ji-hwan-I, and a soccer coach played by Gong Min-jung. I mention the soccer coach not because she's an important character but because I felt satisfied when I finally remembered where I'd seen her before. Gong Min-jung was Shin Min-ah's best friend in "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" from earlier this year.

"Ssanahee Sunjung" is only ever memorable in little vignettes like this. There's also a Filipino character who pops up for just a couple of scenes. In the first one, he's Mr. Yoo's co-worker at the watermelon farm, and makes a cutting yet humorous remark about how he's in South Korea working at the watermelon farm for the same reason Mr. Yoo is. The second one is just the party scene that closes the movie out and he does some dancing.

There's also backdrop, with the village of Magari very much being a snapshot of South Korea's rural, dialect filled countryside. The location shooting appears to have been done in the outer reaches of Gochang, a township in the southwest part of the country. We can tell the air is nice and fresh because Won-bo really likes riding his bicycle out in the breeze, as do other people. The romantic cinematography is bright and pastoral, making the countryside look like a nice place to relax.

While "Ssanahee Sunjung" looks pleasant enough, the story suffers from a lack of real urgency. This isn't necessarily bad, since Mr. Yoo was, after all, looking for a way to get away from his life. But Mr. Yoo is such a cipher its difficult to get engaged when the story starts to explain a little more about his backstory. That much is probably to be expected, given that "Ssanahee Sunjung" is based on a poet's story about the countryside. Though the movie best distinguishes itself when it's less Mr. Yoo's observations about the country and more Won-bo's observations about Mr. Yoo.

"Ssanahee Sunjung" would benefit a lot from taking place entirely from Won-bo's perspective, demoting Mr. Yoo to a supporting character and editing out the more convoluted aspects of his subplots. At over a hundred minutes "Ssanahee Sunjung" really tests the limits of its fundamentally simple concept. This is a story about rural life, and how people can allow themselves to be isolated without really being alone. The sentiment is sweet, and doesn't benefit from overly ambitious plot hooks.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Ssanahee Sunjung" is directed by Jung Byung-gak, and features Jun Suk-ho, Park Myung-hoon, Kim Jae-hwa, Choi Dae-chul, Shim Eun-jin, Jeon Dan-ah. Release date in Korea: 2021/11/25.