Gojitmal/Lies (1999)
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Y is an 18-year-old college student looking for something new in terms of sex. Since both of her sisters experienced their first sex as victims of rape, she is determined to lose her virginity with a man of her choice. And that choice is J, a married 38-year-old sculptor. The beginnings seem nice and innocent despite the fact that the guy is twice as old as her and married. But soon, their happy sex life starts to take a turn for the sadomasochistic. It starts with small twigs and soon develops into steel rods and broom handles. And when J tries to leave his wife, Y, threatens to end it all with him. Can they close this chapter to their lives with a smile or with death?
Overall: Lately I’ve been opening up my reviews to films that are shocking and downright “disturbing.” This is yet another one of those. Few films if any can make me wonder where the line between “fake” and “real” is and let’s say…I lost the line. By the end of the film, I came out of it buying what the director sold me. It’s not I don’t think it could be (and probably is) fake…it’s that the scenes are so continuous that you can see the welts as they develop on the “actors.” Everything is so “real” that frankly, the line vanished for me and I was caught up in it all. There are the “Bumfight” videos in the U.S. which showed real violence between real people. Maybe one of the 2 fighters knew in advance to create a fight but once it started, it was real and genuine. Well this film gets to the point by the end that the violence looks real. As I said, I bought the director’s bill of goods. You got me. This wasn’t quite like “Irreversible” where I contemplated turning it off. I sat through this and made it all the way through. But it’s still a film where you may end up covering one or both eyes as it plays on your screen. Something else the director did was cut scenes into the film showing the actors as themselves and discussing what they are about to shoot or already shot on film. Trying to emphasize the intensity of the actions, we see the effects of “pretending” to act in such disturbing scenes has on the actors. It’s these scenes which could be choreographed (but might not be), that lend reality to the film. Some people find this film just filled with smut and filth. But I think the director, Sun-Woo Jang, was so determined to make something to outrageous for the conservative society of South Korea that perhaps he had to just push the boundaries so far as to show the boundaries just do not exist. I think as “fake” as this film could be, Jang didn’t want it to be. He needed realism. He needed to slap people in the face and make them reply, “Thank you, may I have another.” As for the realism of reality in the world, Chang Jung Il, the author of the novel on which the film is based, was found guilty of pornography and served two months' prison time for writing the book. In this country (U.S.), the book would have either been ignored or not even published…and the film similarly never been made. Sometimes you have to take chances. Had Chang kept the ideas to himself thousands of people would have missed this film. Everyone sees this stuff differently and I strive to see everything there is to see. Now I’ve seen it. Will you? Comparison: Crash meets Lolita |
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