Kwak Kyung-taek is primarily known as a maker of manly films, his filmography includes a number of testosterone fuelled works such as Friend (2001), Typhoon (2005), and Eye For an Eye (2008). So it should come as some surprise that in 2011, his ninth feature was essentially a romance film, or so the marketers behind it would have us believe. The truth is, Kwak is actually no stranger to romance narratives. One of his best films is Love (2007) and if the title wasn’t enough of a giveaway, it is a love story, albeit one played in a world of gangsters.
Having seen six of his films I’m still a little undecided as
to how good a filmmaker Kwak is. Friend was a strong feature that
prompted such a wave of popularity in Korea that it carried him to the upper
echelons of the industry, not least because the film was reportedly based on
his own youth. His films are always
polished and are well put together but he lacks a visual stamp, which is a
defining feature for many of his confreres in the industry. Aside from male characters, the most
defining characteristic of Kwak’s films is the omnipresence of his protagonist's
backstories, they are never free of tragedy or their social class. Structurally this will be conveyed in
one of two ways, either we are presented with the tragedy or poor social
setting beforehand as a prologue to the events of the films, such as in Friend, Mutt Boy (2003), and Love,
or we discover their traumatic backstories through flashback, like in Typhoon, Eye for an Eye, and now Pain.
Like so many Korean films that have come before it, the
source of the protagonist’s anguish in Pain
is rooted in a deadly car crash. Off
the top of my head, in 2011 alone, I can think of Champ, Blind, and the popular
K-Drama City Hunter that have all
used the same trop. Granted it is
an effective tool but perhaps more to the point, it has believability on its
side. There aren’t many accidents
that can wipe out most of a family and still be deemed plausible. Fires (also very popular in Korean
cinema) and vehicular collisions pretty much fill out this list.
Riskier still are the ailments of the lead characters. Analgesia and hemophilia are conditions
that we do not encounter on a daily basis, far from it. So to have two characters suffering
from them meet and fall in love goes quite a ways to stretching credulity. Misgivings aside though, it works
surprisingly well. It’s original
and leads to some novel situations while also accentuating the emotional highs
and lows of the narrative. Of
course Nam-soon's insensitivity to pain is also a metaphor for the suppression of his
traumatic memories, to the point where he can no longer feel them or any thing
else. He holds himself responsible
for his family’s death and as a result constantly subjects himself to
punishment. Since he cannot feel
pain, this cycle can only accelerate and escalate, never providing any
relief.
Throughout Kwak’s films you won’t find many strong female
characters. Even in Love, the presence of the female romantic interest
is largely symbolic: the impetus of the film’s actions rest on Joo Jin-mo’s
character’s shoulders. I wondered
whether Pain would suffer a similar
fate but thankfully Dong-hyeon is afforded much more characterization than
previous women in his films.
Perhaps even more successful is the casting of the delightful Jeong
Ryeo-won, who was wonderful in Castaway
on the Moon (2009). She’s
perfect for the part, equal parts tough, vulnerable, and cute, and as always, a
joy to watch on screen.
I think that Pain
stands as one of Kwak’s best films, even though it was far from his most
successful one. The only part of
the film that drags is the end, which smacks a little of inevitability. However, it does make reference to the conclusion of Park Kwang-su’s seminal Chilsu and Mansu (1988), whose damaged
characters find themselves at an impasse by the film's end. They stare down into a precipice from up on high, not quite understanding
what lead them there and helpless as they await their fate, forced upon them by
a traumatized society, which is breathlessly trying to move towards the light.
★★★☆☆
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