My Dear Enemy

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Director Lee Yoon-ki South Korea (2009) 2h 3 min

Dates and Venue Opens April 30 | Cinemark Tinseltown, Vancouver

Reviewer Ed Farolan

There is nothing convoluted in this film. It almost follows the Aristotelian precept of the well-made play, occuring within 24 hours, with a single plot. Lee Yoon-ki must have taken his classics seriously because he has come up with a classic well-made movie, with a simple plot, and none of the nouveaux flashbacks and complicated sub-plots we now see in today's films.

The film is artfuly done and straightforward: A young woman (Jeon Do-youn), tracks down Byoung-woon (Ha Jung-woo), a talkative young man, at a racetrack in Seoul. She lent him money more than a year ago and she wants it back today. This premise sets up a daylong journey around the city, as Byoung-woon — Hee-soo’s former boyfriend, we learn along the way — borrows the money to pay her back from a succession of friends, relatives and, primarily, other girlfriends.

Even the ending is unexpected. You'd think they'd get together and live happily ever after, or perhaps they would forever part ways. Interesting ending which somewhat borders into social satire, a woodyallenish tongue-in-cheek comedy tickling the audience into wanting more.

. © 2010 Ed Farolan