[HanCinema's Film Review] "Unframed"

"Unframed", which screened at last year's BIFF, is an omnibus film project, written and directed by four actors, who came up with a series of radically different movies.

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Choi Hee-seo's contribution is "Bandi", which tells the story of the titular little girl, whose father's death has caused both her and her mother So-yeong (played by Choi) and grandmother significant psychological trauma. The elder of the three keeps seeing him appearing in the house she lives and he grew up with, although these visions have a healing effect for her. So-yeong tries to forget by not mentioning him at all, but Bandi really tries to find a way to connect with him, something she achieves in secret by searching his staff in his room, every time they visit her grandmother. At the same time, however, she has developed a stutter which is also a cause for a mild kind of bullying in school, and concern for both her ancestors.

The focus here is on grief, and the various ways people find to cope with it, with Choi, highlighting the fact that communication, essentially talking about the issue, is the only way to move forward. The film also implements a naturalistic aspect, with a part taking place in a forest, in a rather visually impressive scene, that also highlights the job done in the cinematography. Its best asset however, is the acting, with Choi, Jo Kyung-sook as the grandmother and little Park So-yi as Bandi giving great performances.

The second part is Son Sukku's "Rerun" and focuses on Soo-in, a kind of failed actor, who visits his aunt in order to accompany her to a wedding. On the way, however, the elderly woman suffers from a health crisis, with the two of them ending up in the hospital, which is proven that something is amiss with her mental function also. Nevertheless, they manage to reach the wedding in the end, only to find that the guests have left, and only the very close members of the family remain.

Son presents a number of comments here, with the difficulties families face nowadays, particularly due to the generational gap, being the most central one, along with the impact small gestures a food can have in such relationships. At the same time, and through Soo-in, he also makes a comment on success and failure, and how society and family perceives it, with the first aspect in particular, being presented in hilarious fashion. Although the main premises of the movie are dramatic, Son retains a subtle humoristic approach, with the endeavors between Soo-in and his mother being the main medium. Im Sung-jae, in the former role, is quite convincing.

The most impressive part in the collection is evidently Park Jung-min's "Vote for 'I don't know'", that focuses on the efforts of an elementary school bully to exploit the "loser" of the classroom in order to rig the elections for the class president.

Featuring an excellent job in the editing, which intensifies the agony in a way that reminds of a political thriller, frequent music video-like sequences, a number of plot twists and an overall humorous and ironic approach, the segment is a true joy to watch. At the same time, Park highlights how the microcosm of the classroom works, with the "political games" having nothing to be jealous of from the ones of the "grownups", in an approach that could also be perceived as a metaphor of actual politics in Korea. Kang Ji-seok, Kim Dam-ho, Park Hyo-eun and Park Seung-joon give great performances in the roles of the students.

The last part is Lee Je-hoon's "Blue Happiness", which focuses on Chan-yeong, a young man in a loving relationship with Ji-eun. As he is looking for a job, he stumbles upon a former classmate, Seung-min, who seems to have become rich through stock trading, and manages to convince Chan-yeong to follow in his footsteps. Soon, however, the latter realizes he is in over his head, and the toll becomes personal also.

Lee comments on the difficulties of the relationships of modern couples, most of which derive from the struggle youths face nowadays to get a proper job. The accusation towards the ways capitalism works is palpable, but in the end, this part is probably the weakest, since although there is nothing particularly wrong with it, there is also nothing special about it.

Overall, "Unframed" offers an interesting collection of shorts, with at least three of them being quite pleasant to watch. However, at over 2 hours, and with 4 different segments, it overextends its welcome a bit, even if the order of the segments is ideal. On the other hand, as a vehicle for four actors to move into the director's chair and perhaps the next step in their career, definitely works quite well.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Unframed" is directed by Choi Hee-seo, Lee Je-hoon, Park Jung-min, Son Sukku, and features Jung Hae-in, Lee Dong-hwi, Choi Hee-seo, Park So-yi, Im Sung-jae, Byun Joong-hee. Release date in Korea: 2021/12/08.