Si-e-nui sa-rang

Well paced, thought-provoking journey. You think the story reached its peak, but you blink and it suddenly sucks you right back in.

A comedy with a dramatic end. The film makers who dare to try unconventional subjects. Well performance by the leading actress.

This film brought a lot of positive surprises for it wasn't quite what I expected. It is a close Korean version of Luchino Visconti's "Death In Venice" which was based on Thomas Mann's book. Here except Mann or Visconti took the high horse on Platonist love as an adoration of physical beauty, Kim Yang-he, the director of "The Poet and The Boy" took the deep plunge into the soul of a poet who finds love in an obsessive yearning for a young man. Because "Death In Venice" was set in the early 1900s, the period and the take on the subject bind the character and the film in restrain and detachment. In contrast, "The Poet" and the casting of Yang Ik-Joon in particular, is among one of the many reasons why this film has a lot more warmth. Also, unlike "Venice", this isn't about physical beauty but about wanting to connect through kindred of feelings. By comparing these two films, the question then arises on what is love? Is it physical attraction or kindred of feelings? Or perhaps both?

I say that because that's what this story feels like, thin layers being stripped away ever so slowly. This is a film that reveals more depth about its characters as it slowly makes its way.

The poet begins as almost a caricature, though the words he writes are lovely and insightful, he seems lacking in self awareness. This is a character who strikes us as simple and a tad comedic. Eventually we get to see him evolve into someone altogether different. Actually all three central characters undergo transformation. It is not so much that they change as much as it is that we get to see more of what they actually are about by the way they react to their situation.

I want to pigeonhole this as a gay movie mostly because it is so very good. But I can only do that by adding the caveat that nothing gay happens. The poet has feelings for a young man, and he believes that they are feelings of love. I am not so sure. Is he in love with the boy, or in love with all the boy represents? Which would include a litany of diverse elements: beauty, youth, dependency, tragedy, unreflectiveness, rage, etc. it's a long list.

This is a beautifully crafted piece of work. It's multidimensional and well worth the journey. That being said, it won't be for everyone. One wishes the distinction didn't have to be made, but it will be helpful for some to know this not a movie, it's a film.

Just some of the things I hated: 1) Disgusting eating habits...those people inhale their food like wild animals.

2) The lead character has a Moe haircut and a deadpan facial expression that never changes.

3) Why do they all sit on the floor when there are chairs right there?