[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Mimi" Episode 2

I'm reasonably sure at this point that Min-woo is going crazy. Still not so clear on the ghosts. Yes, apparently there is more than one ghost. Don't expect much of an explanation of this, as "Mimi" appears determined to manage its story in terms of abstractions. In many ways this episode is a repeat of the first one. Min-woo has these rather bizarre dreams that seem to be stating something specific, then he goes off and wanders around a bunch of very clean voids for awhile.

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Most dramas, most media really, are filled with extras. Sometimes these random unnamed background people do something noteworthy, but for the most part they don't do anything. "Mimi" has this weird effect where a lot of the time most of the characters feel like extras even if they're obviously not. Eun-hye (played by Shin Hyun-been) has a name, an important title, and is clearly framed by the camera as if she were somehow central to the proceedings. Yet the woman just feels really irrelevant to everything.

Even the ghosts are like this, which is part of why it's so hard to tell to what extent Min-woo is delusional. On the one hand, the ghosts are clearly doing things in this episode even when Min-woo can't see them. At the same time, these actions are so mundane and pointless that, well, it's hard to tell what's even supposed to be happening. There's a comical scene where Mimi repeatedly tries to pick up a physical object. Why does she want to do so? What benefit is there? And wouldn't floating objects expose the presence of ghosts?

"Mimi" doesn't really care about addressing these questions, which is part of what makes it so perplexing to watch. The drama somehow manages to be mundane and mind-bending at the same time. There have been lots of dramas about ghosts lately, but if nothing else "Mimi" could hardly be accused of ripping off the concept for popularity's sake. I have no idea who the audience for this drama is supposed to be, but it's difficult to imagine a mainstream one being able to appreciate it.

For the record, I'm having trouble here too. One of the problems of setting the story up like this is that, oftentimes, "Mimi" just feels plain unremarkable, even boring. Yes, I get that Min-woo (probably) isn't going to a random bar somewhere populated by ghosts, that in reality this is supposed to be a metaphor for something. But what? This drama demands a lot of active brain power, and as of yet I'm still not sure whether the drama actually deserves it or whether director Song Chang-soo is just jerking us around for no reason.

Review by William Schwartz

"Mimi" is directed by Song Chang-soo, written by Seo Yoo-seon and features Changmin and Mun Ka-young