Eine Affäre

Somewhere in between Wong Kar-Wai's 'In the Mood for Love' and a TV-drama, this movie about adultery from South-Korea somehow manages to appeal to a broader audience while retaining integrity movie-as-art wise. Lee Je-young was unbeknown-est to me, but I just realized he made three movies (and quite different ones at that) with a widely popular appeal that I really enjoyed unrelated to each other.

This is a doomed relationship, the interesting thing is that they are not judged in any way in the portrayal and it therefore becomes a meditation on love, the impermanence of it and of life itself. Quite profound.

Lee Mi-suk is amazing in the role, and looks better than ever as 38.

This film is about alienation, the mutual sympathy, and finding oneself rather than just an love affair of a middle aged woman. It is revealed by the scenes in which Seo-Hyun(LEE Mi-Sook) meets Wu-In (LEE Jung-Jae) that she is captured in her everyday life with her husband. Their meeting and dating always are set in the Nature or open space with bright color tone- lake, woods, and garden.

But her husband always appears within the closed place - a little bit dark and blue interior with cold tone. Though she does not express her dissatisfaction nor shows her facial expression, the surroundings tell viewers what she feels.

LEE Mi-Sook, the heroine of this film, comes back to Korean Film industry from her near 10 year reclusive marriage and shows the beauty of mature Korean woman as Isabelle Huppert shows her gorgeousness in 'School of Flesh'. Director LEE Jae-Yong chooses the minimalist direction in this film and lets the characters, settings, and tones reveal some meanings themselves and lets audience feel the film rather explain how she is gorgeous.

Usually heroines of melodrama weep and cry too much in this situation. But LEE Mi-Sook's performance style is very different from the typical melodramatic performance. She shows nothing but her feeling is allegorized by the surroundings.