Opening: LET ME OUT, Put Up Or Shut Up, With Light And Breezy Style

"Co-directors Kim Chang-rae and Soh Jae-yong use Let Me Out as an effective way to take the piss out of anyone who complains about the state of film today," wrote our own J Hurtado last year.

Mr. Hurtado set up the premise:

Mu-young [Kwon Hyung Sang] is a film student like many film students and film geeks around the world. He bemoans the state of Korean cinema and is never satisfied with anything he sees. When filmmaker Yang Ik-joon (director, writer, star of Breathless, playing himself) comes to Mu-young's film school to show his newest film, our hero can't help himself from giving Yang shit about the film. It is too commercial, the point of view is too subjective, etc., all typical film school blather, before getting carted out of the Q & A by his best friend.

Yang decides to force Mu-young to put his money where his mouth is and bestows a $5,000 grant on Mu-young to complete a film project. After Mu-young finishes shitting himself, he realizes that he's actually going to have to put up or shut up. After the requisite cast and crew assembly montage, it becomes very apparent that Mu-young has no idea what he's doing. He's poked and prodded by from all sides in an attempt to get him to do something, but he's still stiffens at the first sign of responsibility.

ScreenAnarchy's James Marsh also saw the film last year, and had this to say (in part):

The film evokes a similar viewing experience to films like Tom Dicillo's Living In Oblivion or Marlon Rivera's The Woman In The Septic Tank, and benefits from a smart script, riddled with knowing references and informed jokes about filmmakers, film-making and those comfortable only "directing with their mouths." Let Me Out also delivers purely as a slice of light-hearted entertainment."

Mr. Marsh concluded: "The result is a light and breezy comedy that shows a keen understanding of its subject matter and a confidence behind the camera that only serves to further bolster the film's message: it's not necessarily what you know that is most important, but how you adapt, collaborate and, ultimately, perform that defines you and what you really stand for."

Let Me Out will make its Los Angeles premiere on Friday, August 16th at the Downtown Independent Theater, with the film's director, Jae Soh, in attendance. You can find ticket information at the theater's official site.