Jigeum, eedaerogah joayo-roughly translated, "It is better now, this way" (Boo Jiyoung, 2009)

date watched: June 2, 2009
location: Joongang Cinema, Euljiro, Seoul, Korea

I must say, the twist in this film is something that definitely came as a shock. But not in a good way.

Brief synopsis: Two sisters, Myungjoo and Myungeun, are reunited after what is assumed to be a considerable stretch of time. The reason for their reunion: their mother's death. They share the same mother, but have different fathers. Myungeun is successful, cold-hearted, and a tough career woman. She lives in the city, while Myungjoo slaves away everyday in a stinky fish market in Jeju (an island located at the southern tip of South Korea). Myungeun is perpetually bitter towards her sister and aunt; Myungjoo kindly accepts her sister's sour attitude, for the most part. Myungeun suggests the pair go on a trip for a couple days, and although she doesn't mention it at first, her objective is to find her long-lost father (He supposedly ran away when Myungeun was young; Myungjoo's father died earlier). During their trip, they quarrel often, and we get more glimpses of Myungeun's snobbishness and picky tastes. The trip reaches its climax when they get into a car accident: Myungeun must stay in the hospital due to a ribcage injury; Myungjoo is unscathed, as far as we can see. So they continue to fight and wonder--evident through multiple flashbacks--until Myungeun finally makes a grand discovery regarding her father. Or, shall we say, mother-turned father. Myungeun was conceived when her father was a man, but born when he became a woman. She remained in Myungeun's life throughout her childhood and much of her adolescent as "Aunt Hyunah."



I'm sure you get my drift now, when I said that the twist was shocking.

The title is rather apt on that point. It really was better before. Perhaps a better title is "Ignorance is Bliss."

And the FILM itself was better before that twist. It suddenly turned the drama into a comedy. And such a drastic shift was uncalled for. The flaw here is that there is no character motivation provided. For example, WHY does Myungeun's father suddenly get the sex-change surgery? And WHY does the mother decide to get pregnant again? It's all a big mystery.

The imagery is rather touching, however. The scenes on Jeju island, and the sisters' journey throughout the Korean countryside provide some marvelous visuals.
Also, the ties between Myungjoo's "fatherless" child and Myungeun are noteworthy.

The film also gives a better stage for the two main actresses, and especially for Shin Min-a, who is better noted for her glamorous commercials and less serious films. My sister commented post-screening, "I wonder how they remained so serious? It must've been so funny, thinking about the situation." I also wonder how the other audience members remained so silent. We started to laugh as soon as Myungeun figured things out. Does that make us evil? Narrow-minded, maybe?