An explanation: the fact that these comments contains information that could be considered a spoiler is the issue I take with Lee's film.
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So, I walked into Han Gong-ju knowing it was a rape-centric drama. It had sparked off a minor squall on twitter after its first screening. Knowing this, I wasn't caught up in the suspenseful narrative teasing of the film's opening. I initially saw worth in its exploration of aftermath and, to a point, victim blaming. Yet, as the narrative progressed and Lee repeatedly returned to the scene of the crime, elaborating on it unnecessarily, my goodwill waned.
It's all spawned from a real life incident where a pack of 41 male high school students kidnapped and raped five schoolgirls. It is a case that certainly deserves unpacking and, given its perpetrator-sided police investigation, some level of resetting but Lee's suspenseful take on the material doesn't lend itself to persuasive reinterpretation. Instead, Han Gong-ju relies heavily on its audience identifying with its softly spoken protagonist, played by Woo-hee Chun. Hers is an extraordinarily emotional performance but it alone cannot eclipse the film's overbearing mystery elements or its lack of sympathetic supporting characters (the lack thereof being necessary to maintain the suspense).
Without that balance, Han Gong-ju comes off as extremely well made but thematically misguided.
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End spoilers that should never have been spoilers in the first place.
★★★
Trailer:
Disclaimer: Due to excessive work and excessive film going, MIFF posts are going to be pretty sketchy this year. I'll come back to some of the better ones and write them up proper-like if the mood takes.
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