[Our thanks to Padrhig Harney for the following review.]
Director Jang Jin has a special way of putting a film together. His films dive into the lives of simple people and intertwine them together. Humor is tangled with melodrama much like the lives of the characters. Jang has created his own world and his films take place in that world. The backdrop to the majority of his films is a surreal comment on the real world that we all live in. There are no extras in his film. Within every frame we has cast members that might play an important role later. This works in some instances, however in his latest work "Romantic Heaven" Jang seems to have gone a bit too far.
The overall premise "Romantic Heaven" is not the problem. The viewer sees happiness imagined, or in the way that Jang understands it. The film asks the viewer let go of his or her ideas of the afterlife for his. A lot can be said of the different things that people imagine when it comes to the afterlife and the film might spark a discussion on the topic. If people are looking for a film that starts a religious debate then they have the right movie. The film fails in a lot of ways, and that is the overall problem.
The film is visually amazing as are all of Jang's works. He is truly a master behind the camera. In regard to the script one can see that his talents lie in comedy, and not in pulling tears. The moments that work are comedic and Jang must know this. It is very disappointing to find that his recent works seems to keep falling short with the same mistakes that alienate most viewers. In a world of situation people are looking for something new, and not the same tried and true formula that we are given every year.
Jang Jin is one of Korea's most prolific directors and puts out a film every year or so. From every one of his films Murder, Take One (2005), A Girl I Know (2004) and Guns And Talks (2001) we are treated to hints of brilliance. In each of his films his characters are offbeat and outside normal convention. While each year we are treated to a new film there seems to be something missing from each. One can only hope that Jang takes more time with his next film and brings us his true masterpiece.
Review by Padrhig Harney
Director Jang Jin has a special way of putting a film together. His films dive into the lives of simple people and intertwine them together. Humor is tangled with melodrama much like the lives of the characters. Jang has created his own world and his films take place in that world. The backdrop to the majority of his films is a surreal comment on the real world that we all live in. There are no extras in his film. Within every frame we has cast members that might play an important role later. This works in some instances, however in his latest work "Romantic Heaven" Jang seems to have gone a bit too far.
The overall premise "Romantic Heaven" is not the problem. The viewer sees happiness imagined, or in the way that Jang understands it. The film asks the viewer let go of his or her ideas of the afterlife for his. A lot can be said of the different things that people imagine when it comes to the afterlife and the film might spark a discussion on the topic. If people are looking for a film that starts a religious debate then they have the right movie. The film fails in a lot of ways, and that is the overall problem.
The film is visually amazing as are all of Jang's works. He is truly a master behind the camera. In regard to the script one can see that his talents lie in comedy, and not in pulling tears. The moments that work are comedic and Jang must know this. It is very disappointing to find that his recent works seems to keep falling short with the same mistakes that alienate most viewers. In a world of situation people are looking for something new, and not the same tried and true formula that we are given every year.
Jang Jin is one of Korea's most prolific directors and puts out a film every year or so. From every one of his films Murder, Take One (2005), A Girl I Know (2004) and Guns And Talks (2001) we are treated to hints of brilliance. In each of his films his characters are offbeat and outside normal convention. While each year we are treated to a new film there seems to be something missing from each. One can only hope that Jang takes more time with his next film and brings us his true masterpiece.
Review by Padrhig Harney