Han Chang-lok announces himself as a talent to watch with the grungy and livewire debut Funky Freaky Freaks, one of the titles duking it out in Busan's revamped competition section this year.
This Korea National University of Arts (K'Arts) feature project sets itself apart from other Korea university features -- including the other two premiering at the festival this year -- En Route To and The Accordion Door, both from the Korean Academy of Film Arts -- with aggressive mise-en-scene that seeks to brings out the turbulent inner worlds of its young protagonists, rather than bottle them up.
Three close high school friends get up to mischief to amuse themselves whenever they're not in class. Yong-gi is an ordinary boy who looks out for Ji-sook, a girl with a messy home life, while the effeminate Dum-bo tries to steer clear of bullies. Some of their schemes involve selling used panties to perverts, with their clients not realising that the items of clothing have been worn by boys, not the girl who delivers them. Dum-bo also deceives men on the phone, pretending to be a woman, only to shame them when he reveals his identity.
The trio's dynamic is upended by Woo-joo, a handsome new transfer student who transfixes Ji-sook and frustrates Yong-gi. Hormones and jealousy catapult the youths onto a slippery trail where truth and hearsay are often interchangeable.
With its rough handheld photography, jump cuts, derelict locations and potty-mouthed teen protagonists, the film appears shaggy on the surface, but this belies the care that has gone into its structure, plotting and themes. When colourful animated frames pop up on screen, they aren't merely zany flourishes: they're markers of a storyteller seeking to focus the viewer's attention.
Speaking of frames, the story is split into three chapters -- 'impulse', 'collision' and 'shock' -- which chronicle the combustible relationships and inevitable fates of these characters. Ji-sook is guided by her need for attention and attraction to bad boys. This is instilled in her by a handsome father who used to beat her so often that she would feel nervous whenever he left her alone -- at least when his fists came out again she could be free from anxiety. Dum-bo toys with men online, but his facility with digital communication comes back to haunt him, when social media turns him into a target.
Han's overall style isn't exactly new, as we've seen many foul-mouthed teens populate edgy youth over the years, all the way from Im Sang-soo's Tears to Park Hwa-young, the debut of Lee Hwan who returns to Busan this year with his mainstream debut Project Y, but its contemporary mix of media makes it feel fresh, particularly when contrasted with its frequently polished but occasionally dry indie peers. That said, the heavy style takes precedence over plot at the film's outset and it's only after it evens out with the story that the film hits its stride.
Funky Freaky Freaks opens with smashed-together footage of wriggling caterpillar larvae, indicating the chaotic coming-of-age story to come. Violent changes are afoot and the results won't always be pretty, but that's not to say they won't be exhilarating in this promising debut that introduces us to a filmmaker in the midst of his own metamorphosis, ready to make a mark with his own voice.