I’m having a tough time cracking this thing. I think it’s about mistrust, created by the voyeuristic tendencies of the class dynamic at play here. But I also think Jongsu would have this pent up frustration regardless of the class based slights. It was just waiting to come out. I don’t think I’m quite on point there, but it’s the closest i’ve gotten fresh out of a viewing. I could see this movie digging a hole in my brain the longer I sit with it.

Besides the amazing photography and a couple of really transcendent scenes, I was really drawn by the ultra slow pace of the film. That combined with some excellent acting really lets you get inside Jong-su’s head, and understand the paranoia and mistrust he experiences by stepping out of his comfort zone. But him stepping out of his comfort zone was inevitable, was it not. He says he likes reading things that seem to be about him, but it’s also clear he’s grasping for something more. His dream of being a writer telegraphs his desire to ascend the class ladder, but his inability to substantively connect and the constant misfortune that seems to befall him just compounds his innate frustration with his circumstances. 

Only criticism and this is very minute is it might be just a bit too figurative for me. Some elements I just couldn’t wrap my brain around, like the disappearing cat, the clues in Ben’s house (wtf was he doing at the end there with the makeup) , the whole well enigma. A rewatch is definitely required.