Before the Summer Passes Away by Adam Hartzell

Perhaps it's because So-yeon took the same trip I did to attend the 11th edition of PIFF, from Seoul to Busan via the bullet train, and even stopped in at the same perfume/cologne store I did that ennabled me to relate so well with Sung Ji-hae's debut film, Before the Summer Passes Away. Or perhaps it's because I've had recent conversations with friends about desiring that person who, in all intense intents and purposes, is wrong for you. Because Sung's debut explores that very conundrum with a refusal to victimize or punish the woman who, for a summer while, chooses the bad man.

 So-yeon (Kim Bo-kyung) is taking a break from studying in France and juggling two men at home in the interim. Min-hwan (Lee Hyun-woo) is the man for whom she'll reschedule at the last moment, the man for whom she'll lie to rearrange those plans and to keep their affair from negatively impacting his position as a diplomat. Hyun-jae (Kwon Min) is the 'nice guy' who waits for her, opening up his days for whenever she can slip in time for him. Without demanding caricatures of her characters, Sung (who also wrote the screenplay) has created complex emotions within each one. So-yeon behaves differently when with Min-hwan and when with Hyun-jae. She is malleable in Min-hwan's hands and does the folding and molding of Hyun-jae. But it's not as if she is 'two different people'. Both these ways of being are a part of her. She is vulnerable to being manipulated and being the manipulator.

Lover Min-hwan is as diplomatic in his romantic relations as he is in his job. Yes, he's an ass, but he's not out of control. He's in control, presenting an understanding about how 'comforting' a wrong partner such as he might be. To me he's paternalistic, but just like some guys like Jae-moon in My Friend & His Wife want to be mothered, the fatherly instructions passed on by Min-hwan can be desirable by some. And as much as I hate his paternalism, his advice to So-yeon as she leaves for Paris is, well, good advice, which is what's so frustrating about this particular type of bad guy.

The 'nice guy' Hyun-jae does all the Mr. Right things. These behaviors, and his beauty, impress So-yeon's friend who mentions again and again how she has such an 'eye for men'. At least this is what she says in between her bickering with her husband. So-yeon knows Hyun-jae is a nice guy and that her friend is correct in her evaluation of Hyun-jae, but her friend is also wrong. Those who claim she can't see can't see that Hyun-jae just doesn't work for who So-yeon is right now regardless how nice he is. Eventually, So-yeon will hopefully see this mean streak in her as what it is, a sign that either something in the relationship needs to be addressed or she needs to close that chapter on the relationship.

And I want to close this chapter on another important South Korean film for me by coming to So-yeon's statement about what is and isn't "Korean" that caused such laughter to arise in the screening I caught at PIFF. The actual phrase is yelled at Hyun-jae who thinks he's doing the right thing by accompanying her to see her off at the airport. It was translated as roughly 'It's so Korean dropping off at the airport! I need time alone to reflect!' This dialogue is an example of much of the dialogue in Before the Summer Passes Away, you are ambivalent with it like you are the characters. First there's the emotion behind it. She doesn't want Hyun-jae there because he'll ruin her replanned plans, causing her to replan yet again, to lie yet again. So she lies to avoid yet another lie. And it is this practice of lying that one hopes she will address during her moments of reflection. Hopefully she will become aware that in such a practice of lying she isn't lying for Min-hwan, but lying for herself. Or better yet, she is lying to herself. (One of her more interesting lies is to say she's "Korean-American" in order to acquire morning-after pills from a pharmacist.) Still, saying dropping off at the airport is 'so Korean' speaks a truth that resonated with Koreans in the audience at Busan. And yet by having the character elaborate that she needs time alone to reflect, Sung underscores for me why I have kept my focus on South Korean film.

It is exactly these moments alone with the characters that allow for reflection on my life, how it affects those around me, and how their lives affect mine. The coda at the end of this film was perfect for me. Like So-yeon, I was alone in a coffeehouse writing this first draft. Summer loves are not meant to last. Their interim status frees them up to be something else, tests for ourselves to see what it is we really want out of our partners, to realize how we act and react with various types of partners. Regardless of the less than healthy decisions So-yeon has made, she is treated like an adult in Sung's hands, allowed to make her own mistakes. She is permitted the adult space to realize she is both strong and weak. She's a liar for now, but the truth isn't very far away. (Adam Hartzell)

http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm06.html   舉報