Yeobaeudeul

Actresses is a 2009 Korean drama/mockumentary movie about a bunch of actresses discussing their lives.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Full disclosure; I didn't really like the premise of this particular film to begin with, so it kept sliding down my watch list for some time. A bunch of actresses sitting around talking about their lives and emotions is not exactly the type of film I'm dying to see. But, as it is with any decently rated cinematic venture from South Korea, I was going to watch it sooner or later. I finally caught up with it this past weekend, and it was well worth the watch!

This film centers around 6 Korean actresses who are gathered together for a joint Vogue photo shoot. The actresses are all fairly well known in Korean cinema and each of them were selected to represent a specific generation that spans a combined 40 years or so of Korean cinema; essentially, they collectively symbolize the past, present, and future of Korean actresses.

The cast all play "themselves" to some degree or another. They range in age, with the oldest being Yoon Yeo- Jung (a "Grand Dame" of Korean cinema who's in her early to mid sixties at the time of filming) to the youngest being Kim Ok-Bin (a girl in her early twenties, who turned a lot of heads the same year this movie was filmed with her mesmerizing performance as the lead actress in the quasi-vampire movie "Thirst").

This movie can somewhat be divided into two parts; the first half plays somewhat like a traditional movie that focuses on the Vogue staff trying (sometimes desperately) to assuage the massive egos and tiny quirks of all the actresses they've gathered together in order to complete a successful photo shoot. It's interesting, and often comical, to see the emotions (whether real or not) of each of the actresses as they come together for this photo op; there's lots of vanity, insecurities, sniping, and "one up (wo)manship" on display, as they each vie for acceptance and prevalence among, and between, themselves.

As luck would have it, the props needed to complete the photo shoot have been delayed in arriving to the set, which leads to the second half of this film; as such, the actresses all have to sit around and wait, which then forces them to interact with each other more and more (whether willingly or otherwise) as time passes by. Eventually, they all get to the point of accepting and/or overcoming their differences over a drunken dinner party where they all discuss their careers and lives at length (and all that goes along with being a Korean actress). Here, the movie essentially boils down to a girlie/woman talkfest & female bonding experience, and as much as it shames me to type this, I found this part of the film totally engrossing!

This movie benefits quite a bit by several things: 1) First and foremost, all of the actresses are absolutely terrific at their craft; 2) perhaps most significantly, this movie is filmed in a strangely unique style that is part "actual movie, part documentary, part mockumentary, and part improvisational home movie". I'm not sure I've seen anything quite like this particular mish-mash style of film making, and I must say that I like it a lot in this particular instance.; and, 3) the actresses (to varying degree) all seem to be actually talking about, and willingly revealing & discussing, their own personal lives inside and outside of the movie making industry. This facet of this film is enhanced even more if you are familiar with who these actresses are, and know a little bit about their "personal history". Everyone does such a good job with the material here, that there comes a point that it's hard to determine whether or not these women are actually still "acting", or are just getting drunk and dishing about their lives and careers and not caring if the camera is rolling, or are just working to try to reach some middle ground in between (whether consciously or otherwise).

Bottom Line: I really like this film. I give it 8 out of 10 stars. And, this is coming from a guy who would gladly trample the Indie, girl power, talk fest, crowd to watch "I Saw the Devil" any day of the week. It's not the greatest thing ever made, but I highly recommend this film as a sublimely interesting and worthwhile watch!

Director E. J-yong has embarked on quite an experiment with this mockumentary film. After all, we know each household and each film can only have one leading lady, and anything more will mean an expectation that claws will come out when disagreements fly. Here, he puts six actresses together in a film to share the limelight with one another, each being a star of their respective generation, coming together for a faux pas Vogue fashion pictorial shoot one Christmas eve. This means tremendous effort in massaging all the egos that get brought to the table, and done in an improvisational manner, scenes are laid out and the actresses are given a free rein to do as they please.

Starring Kim OK-vin (straight after Thirst, which got referenced and with a "Song Kang-ho" making a call to her early in the film – we don't hear him though), Choi Ji-woo, Ko Hyeon-jeong, Yoon Yeo-jeong, Kim Min-hee and Lee Mi-sook, the opening scene focused on their coming together to the Vogue studio filled with tension and anxiety pangs, each agreeing to take up the offer of a joint photo spread based on the theme that they are collectively better than gems, and wondering who the other "competitors"will be, as they soon learn the collective group is drawn from different generations from those in the 20s right up to the 60s.

It's difficult to determine whether certain things that are said and done are actually occurring naturally, or masked under a veneer. After all, the actresses here are well, actresses, and it's anyone's guess if the emotions on display are genuine, or had gone through some internal cleansing before being let loose in front of the camera. Even during the makeup and wardrobe stage before the shoot proper, claws already get sharpened as they launch into smiles on one hand, and on the other come the bitching about things like plastic surgery, and comparisons abound with who's being perceived as granted preferential treatment over the others.

It's extremely tense for anyone having to manage everybody, and the Vogue editors and crew have to each tread very carefully lest anyone decides to walk out on them and cause a delay in their deadline. One should take note though of everything that's happening in the background as well, because while the action might be centered on the screen, the background also has a lot more to offer when reading the expressions of other actresses not involved in what's being the centre of attraction. Particularly interesting in the first half prior to the individual, eye-candy photography session, is how they launch into a tirade on their peers who only have to rely on their good looks, and without substance, to make it in their industry these days, and we also learn that having worked on projects together previously will help cement some informal alliance amongst the actresses against others not in the clique.

The second half though is where this film turns into a gem, even though it meant taking place predominantly around a dinner table with the group of 6 having a decent conversation about life, their industry and their own attitudes, aspirations and fears. It is this commentary at this point which provides some fascinating insights into the psyche of the Korean star system, and where you, for once, feel the actresses not just as actresses, but people with whom you can identify with, being the misunderstood lot that they are, with every move and especially mistakes made being amplified for public criticism. Yes while they may still be putting their acting cap on, there are some genuine emotions on display here which director E. J-yong had managed to capture They come in as feisty adversaries, and walk away enlightened with valuable lessons and realization that we as the audience will hopefully take away as well. There may be another film made on the same premise and context, but this marks quite the bold step in putting more than enough women together under the same limelight to elicit a response, and what a response this had turned out to be!