Jiseul: Sundance Review

PARK CITY -- Detailing a notorious 1948 incident in Korean post-WWII history that took place on Jeju Island, writer-director and Jeju native O Muel’s narrative explores the reaction of residents and the motivations of occupying soldiers in moody, luminous black-and-white photography. Oblique, austere and remote, Jiseul will be welcomed at festivals like Sundance, where the film was awarded the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, and by programmers rounding out international sidebars, but has little potential beyond dedicated enthusiasts otherwise.

our editor recommends

Sundance Film Festival 2013: THR's Video Diaries

Sundance 2013: Festival Awards Announced

When Jeju villagers learn that the American military regime and nationalist Korean government have declared everyone living in an exclusion zone five miles beyond the mainland to be Communists subject to arrest and execution, they know that trouble can’t be far behind. When soldiers arrive during a cold and snowy April, residents flee coastal areas, heading to a system of caves in the hills. Stuck underground, they worry, bicker and commiserate, hoping the occupation will end soon.

Several are too restless to remain cooped up, however, and attempt to return to their villages to check on loved ones and abandoned livestock, risking discovery by military patrols that could give away the location of the refugees. The soldiers, meanwhile, attempt to survive the bitter cold while hunting and apprehending islanders.

Although reported estimates claim that as many as 30,000 residents may have been massacred by their fellow Koreans, the film lacks both urgency and relevance. O’s starkly formalist approach, which is both beautiful and solemn in shimmering hi-def black-and-white tones, is a major contributor to the film’s impenetrability. Carefully composed shots, lingering takes, minimal camera movement and deliberate mise-en-scene all heighten this inapproachability. The understated, chronology-shifting narrative technique and awkward, nonprofessional actors don’t improve accessibility either, leaving the impression of a film that’s lovely to look at but enervating to watch.

Venue: Sundance Film Festival, World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Production company: Japari Film
Cast: Oh Young-soon, Moon Suk-bum, Yang Jung-won, Sung Min-chul, Choi Eun-mi, Jang Kyung-sub, Uh Sung-wook, Park Soon-dong, Kang Hee
Director-writer: O Muel
Producer: Ko Hyuk-jin
Director of photography: Yang Jung-hoon
Music: Jeon Song-e, Seo Ji-sun
Editor: Lee Do-hyun
Sales: Indiestory
No rating, 108 minutes