Full of irony and metaphor, 'Vegetarian' earns spot in 'Korean cinema today'

By Shin Hae-in
BUSAN, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- Four features by little-known South Korean filmmakers
were included in the Pusan International Film Festival's Korean Cinema Today:
Panorama section this year, putting them on par with works by the movie
industry's big names.
"Vegetarian (Chaesikjueuija)," the first feature by emerging director Lim
Woo-seong, was one of the films chosen to show off the country's promising new
auteurs. Aesthetic and highbrow while also convincing enough for the general
public, the movie proved to be an excellent choice for the section that
highlights the "essentials of Korean contemporary cinema."
Yeong-hye (Chae Min-seo), a doleful but attractive young housewife, finds herself
having strange dreams that make her disgusted by meat. After suddenly becoming a
vegetarian, Yeong-hye grows gaunt and faces trouble with her meat-loving husband.

Her elder sister's husband (Kim Hyun-sung), an artist desperate for some
inspiration, finds himself intrigued by his "extreme vegetarian" sister-in-law.
The fascination slowly turns into desire, a feeling the man decides to explore
using art as his tool.
Based on Korean writer Han Gang's short story "Mongolian Spot," the movie
exquisitely combines art with sexual desire, walking a tightrope between morality
and artistry.
By painting his sister-in-law's thin body with beautiful flowers, the artist is
not only conducting an act of art, but also fulfilling his desire to physically
possess her.
It's ironically amusing that the film successfully uses a vegetarian character to
reveal the carnivorous and predatory side of humans.
In this movie, being a vegetarian is not only about rejecting meat, but all human
desires.
While Yeong-hye is desperate to "cleanse herself" of a childhood trauma by not
eating meat, her action fans the desire of her brother-in-law, an alter ego
representing Yeong-hye's own past.
Although highbrow in its subjects -- psychology and art -- the movie manages to
keep even the general audience focused throughout the film's nearly two-hour
running time with a tight storyline and convincing characters.
The movie also utilizes refined cinematography and artistry to successfully
employ the characters' emotions.
The quality of the film is even more surprising considering the short career of
the director. Lim, 38, studied at Art Center College of Design in Seoul and wrote
and directed his first short film "Midnight Movie" last year.
Less than a year later, he had not only completed "Vegetarian," but was also
working on his second feature, "Scar."
The 14th Pusan International Film Festival, which uses the old Romanization of
the southeastern city's name, will run through Oct. 16, featuring 355 films from
70 countries as the largest of the annual event to date.
Established in 1996, the festival has since grown into one of most influential
film fests in Asia, focused on discovering new films and first-time directors
from across the region.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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