depressing and beautiful and surreal (there’s a nightmarishly carnivalesque sequence between two one-night stand lovers and also the taboo existence of the movie is a curiosity itself)...antonioni fogs replaced with korean dust storms. damn what is it about sunday meetings.

Banned in South-Korea since it was too gloomy and the director Lee Man-hui abandoned the idea that the ending should be happier. What is left is melancholic echo from days before, an attempt to live despite the unbearable sadness of human existence. The picture wanders around at times hitting the goal but also taking time for the unnecessary and disturbing. The pressed size of the film also affects the viewing experience as engaging with characters doesn't really take place. But the mood he creates works perfectly. And that score is simply heavenly - better than the film itself I'd say. Still it is considered to be one of Lee's best films and it was part of KOFA's 100 Korean films list in 2014. Could be that I'm underrating it but compared to the promise in the beginning, the emotion falls more or less flat.

There was something oft repeated about how "all it takes is one bad day," but nothing gives a headstart on how all it takes is one day without any shine of hope, light, and motive to remain on the ground. Earthly possessions can be the last thing tying you to the world until they stop being the end of the rope. Never getting a break isn't merely being overworked. Never getting a break is never managing to breathe even when you should.

Seoul, Namsan, the subway, the bar owner, the landlady. 
Sunday and everything... I love all of it.

This is a pretty stylish film it must be said, which explores one young man's ennui in a fashion reminiscent somewhat of Antonioni: there's modern architecture, bleak vistas swept by dust, little camera pans up to details of the environment, and an overwhelming sense of lives put on hold, dissolute and dissatisfied people. Our anti-hero (for he's not really a very nice guy) drifts around, bouncing from his pregnant girlfriend to a drunk woman in a bar, and because it's still a Korean film, there are plates of food and lots and lots of drinking scenes. But ultimately it does feel rather one-note in its depiction of urban alienation and the crisis of youth unemployment (at least to me); he eventually reaches the end of the line (literally) and that's about where my patience with him ended too.

An exquisite and exquisite shot Korean drama about love and life and everything in between. The chilly cinematography perfectly echoes the muted emotions, not to mention of the oppressive political atmosphere. A film as timely as it is timeless.

A Day Off closes off the 60s for Korean cinema in much the same way as Aimless Bullet began it: with an icy blast, etched in stark black-and-white. In just 72 sharp, brutal minutes, it conveys more than any other film of its era the driftless, hardscrabble nature of existence in Seoul in the 1960s; the city itself is windswept and unforgiving. As the nominal protagonist, Shin Seong-il does little more than get buffeted around from one absurd and alienating encounter to the next; nonetheless, this is career-best work from him. Suppressed by Park Chung-hee’s government, rediscovered many years later, it’s a contemporary snapshot astonishingly ahead of its time – and a staggering leap forward for its director, Lee Man-hee, whose previous output suggested talent, but never something as focused as this.

Sometimes life is interesting. Sometimes life is boring. Sometimes life is sad. For some, it's only ever really a mixture of the latter two while experiencing it and its only hindsight that gives clarity to the moments of interest.

A Day Off is that experience. It's wanting more and it's longing. It's development all around you while you simply exist. It's alcoholism and depression and it is, for a large number of us, relatable.

Beautiful and powerful. A drifter in a country with change. Highly recommended.

PS: The Korean Film Archive is a wonderful thing and more people should know about it. Over 100 Korean films are available on Youtube (with English subtitles) for free. Great deals

wind, cigarettes, and reflections on Sundays

While not on the level of something like Obaltan, this korean drama hits hard and reflects the fears for the future that korean society had in an era where becoming the economic power they are today was a pipe dream. A bit too Antonioniesque for me in some parts, but a fine film neverless.

Beautiful cinematography, beautiful score, rich in desperation and despair

imgur.com/a/vTW1G9m

우연에의한 비극에 너무 치중한것같다. 김기영감독의 이전작품보다 연출이 고전적이다. 주인공의 친구들 캐릭터가 좀 흥미롭고 60년대 후반까지 남아있던 많은 적산가옥들과 남산의 조선신궁이 신기할 따름. 최근에 발굴된 영화에대한 감격이 영화에대한 호의로 나타나는것같다.

There was something oft repeated about how "all it takes is one bad day," but nothing gives a headstart on how all it takes is one day without any shine of hope, light, and motive to remain on the ground. Earthly possessions can be the last thing tying you to the world until they stop being the end of the rope. Never getting a break isn't merely being overworked. Never getting a break is never managing to breathe even when you should.

The death of the sabbath. Decent post-war alienation piece from Lee Man-hee that's mainly content with wallowing but achieves a certain dusty atmosphere. The melodic score from Jeon Jeong-geun is pleasant and Lee's dynamic widescreen compositions are the strongest part, a bit like Antonioni with all its negative space. There's also something of Ken Loach in the accumulation of misery, like him it often values the excesses of narrative over the psychological.

Some of the most powerful cinematography I've seen in a Korean film. Striking compositions perfectly capture the melancholic performances and beautifully desolate locations. The main character seems to become less sympathetic throughout the film but this only speaks to the sense of nihilism and despair of the world he inhabits.

Abandon all hope, you who have come [to life]...

‚There’s nothing to do outside. To me, Sundays are torture.'

Never felt so understood. This movie is a true gem, so watch it on your next gloomy sunday.