ID :
78986
Tue, 09/08/2009 - 10:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/78986
The shortlink copeid
Alien or human, marital trouble universal in sci-fi romance
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- How does one distinguish between the norm and abnormality? If snow falls in the middle of August, can you still call it a summer day?
"How to Live on Earth" examines this boundary between the usual and the weird
through the eyes of a lonely, poetry-writing alien named Yeon-woo (Park
Byeong-eun), whose marriage is falling apart. Each morning he wakes up feeling
lost in his Seoul apartment, uncertain of who he is, where his home is, and
finding himself increasingly attracted to another woman who may also be from
outer space.
What Yeon-woo does not know is that his wife Hae-rin (Jo Si-nae) is an undercover
agent who married him purely for the purpose surveillance. But despite their
tedious relationship, the couple becomes unexpectedly jealous upon learning of
each other's secret affairs -- a typical "human" feeling that is key to this
bizarre and intriguing story.
Director Ahn Seul-ki hopes that what viewers will see is how these strange
circumstances are similar to their own lives -- and, in that, how normality can
be strange to outsiders.
"I wanted to make something unusual appear to be the norm," he said after the
movie's Seoul preview Monday. "Despite the unusual setting, this story reflects
regular middle-aged people and their marriages."
The third feature from Ahn, who debuted with the Lyon Film Festival-winner "Five
is Too Many" in 2005, "???on Earth" won the committee prize at the Seoul
Independent Film Festival last year and has been invited to the Syracuse
International Film and Video Festival, the Barcelona Asian Film Festival and the
Jeju Film Festival, among others.
Currently teaching film at Seoul Polytechnic School, Ahn majored in mathematics
in college, an educational background that shows in the theories he has mixed
into his work, including his short "Inflexible Vending Machines (1999)."
Though "???on Earth" sags at moments, Ahn's unique approach generally succeeds,
skillfully mixing domestic drama into a science-fiction thriller. Setting Earth
as the "prison" to which aliens are banished after sinning, the filmmaker
portrays aspects of human beings that make them "humane," if not normal. In this
world, they are a species that feels sympathy, jealousy, anger and affection --
creatures that are special through their flaws.
While the Yeon-woo has a key inside his head that will allow him to escape Earth,
the wife has a gun that can kill the woman who fell for her husband. In this
tense balance, they hesitate to make their next move, not only because they are
afraid of the consequences but because they do not want to betray and hurt their
spouses -- just like any "ordinary" couple.
The movie was made with the support from the Korea Film Council. It hits local
theaters Sept. 24.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- How does one distinguish between the norm and abnormality? If snow falls in the middle of August, can you still call it a summer day?
"How to Live on Earth" examines this boundary between the usual and the weird
through the eyes of a lonely, poetry-writing alien named Yeon-woo (Park
Byeong-eun), whose marriage is falling apart. Each morning he wakes up feeling
lost in his Seoul apartment, uncertain of who he is, where his home is, and
finding himself increasingly attracted to another woman who may also be from
outer space.
What Yeon-woo does not know is that his wife Hae-rin (Jo Si-nae) is an undercover
agent who married him purely for the purpose surveillance. But despite their
tedious relationship, the couple becomes unexpectedly jealous upon learning of
each other's secret affairs -- a typical "human" feeling that is key to this
bizarre and intriguing story.
Director Ahn Seul-ki hopes that what viewers will see is how these strange
circumstances are similar to their own lives -- and, in that, how normality can
be strange to outsiders.
"I wanted to make something unusual appear to be the norm," he said after the
movie's Seoul preview Monday. "Despite the unusual setting, this story reflects
regular middle-aged people and their marriages."
The third feature from Ahn, who debuted with the Lyon Film Festival-winner "Five
is Too Many" in 2005, "???on Earth" won the committee prize at the Seoul
Independent Film Festival last year and has been invited to the Syracuse
International Film and Video Festival, the Barcelona Asian Film Festival and the
Jeju Film Festival, among others.
Currently teaching film at Seoul Polytechnic School, Ahn majored in mathematics
in college, an educational background that shows in the theories he has mixed
into his work, including his short "Inflexible Vending Machines (1999)."
Though "???on Earth" sags at moments, Ahn's unique approach generally succeeds,
skillfully mixing domestic drama into a science-fiction thriller. Setting Earth
as the "prison" to which aliens are banished after sinning, the filmmaker
portrays aspects of human beings that make them "humane," if not normal. In this
world, they are a species that feels sympathy, jealousy, anger and affection --
creatures that are special through their flaws.
While the Yeon-woo has a key inside his head that will allow him to escape Earth,
the wife has a gun that can kill the woman who fell for her husband. In this
tense balance, they hesitate to make their next move, not only because they are
afraid of the consequences but because they do not want to betray and hurt their
spouses -- just like any "ordinary" couple.
The movie was made with the support from the Korea Film Council. It hits local
theaters Sept. 24.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
