Busan 2011: FROM SEOUL TO VARANASI Review

Jeon Kyu-hwan of late has won critical acclaim at film festivals with his town trilogy Mozart Town in 2008, Animal Town 2009 and Dance Town 2010. His new outlet is a few global projects all dubbed 'Radical Melodramas' starting with his 5th film From Seoul to Varanasi. Jeon has shown that he can easily bring raw emotion and style to anything he gets his hands on.

Our main character played by Yoon Dong-hwan is the CEO of a publishing company. He has become intimately involved with one of his writers, while his wife becomes interested in a young foreigner with a dark side. With such a story the film might have easily drifted to redundant directions of lust and passion, however Jeon brings the film to a radical shocking catastrophe.   

Our brooding male lead rides his motorcycle through the streets of Seoul, and drinks wine in his office while listening to classical music on his reel to reel Hi-Fi. The film centers on an immoral relationship, and the performances of our lead cast come off as natural. It is worth a mention that the film is filled with explicit sex scenes, but these look to be honest portrayals of emotion and love.

The true downfall of the film is the supporting cast. These radical elements meant to set the story in a more global theme fall flat. It seems that putting out an ad in craigslist for English speaking Muslims in Seoul is not the approach one takes in casting a feature film. These armatures distract the viewer and their horrid acting makes for unwatchable portions of the film. 

With a great body of work behind him one can only hope that Jeon keep experimenting with themes. From Seoul to Varanasi is a beautiful film with a lot going on. In the end it may not be complete as a stand-alone work, however Jeon has shown that he can quickly move on to new projects that explore a similar idea. Catching up with his latest films might just complete his vision of a radical melodrama.