 Movies Revealing the complex geometry of desire.
Two and three are special numbers in love as well as math. In love, two is where things turn mushy�but three is where they get juicy. If it takes two to get lost in each other�s eyes, it takes a third to be sickened by the whole scene, doesn�t it? Woman on the Beach, a new film of rare psychological insight from Korean filmmaker Sang-soo Hong (The Power of Kangwon Province, Woman is the Future of Man, Tale of Cinema) is full of triangular affairs of the heart. But the ultimate shape of Sang-soo�s latest�which is by turns humorously lucid, painfully lucid and, at times, frustratingly meandering in its pacing�is more complicated and amorphous than is initially suggested. Sang-soo could hardly have staged his drama in a superior setting. The central characters decamp from Seoul at the film�s outset for a sleepy, coastal resort town. A sand-storm is expected. The sky is a gauzy grey, the waves a low lull and the tide is withdrawn, revealing an expanse of complex, patterned sand. This beach and several nondescript hotel rooms form the physical setting and metaphoric background for Sang-soo�s mapping of the intricate geometry of desire. The setup is simple. A filmmaker by the name of Kim Jung-rae (Seung-woo
Considering the film through a metaphor of erosion is apt. Woman on the Beach is a long and deliberate experience that can feel, occasionally, as if it�s transpiring over geologic time. Though motifs are not spared�take, for instance, a white dog abandoned by its owners�Sang-soo�s film is primarily a study in psychology, and one that reveals its truths slowly, through an accumulation of behaviors and a revealing of motivations. These things take time. [Editorial note: The Screener was given an advanced copy that ran 127 minutes. It is unclear, as of press time, whether theaters will show this version or the 100-minute American version.] © Copyright 2000–2007 by the Santa Fe Reporter |
