Misulgwan yup dongmulwon

Simply smitten by the music soundtrack that was included (12 tracks) as bonus material to the film on DVD release (Region 3, playable on an 'all region' DVD/CD player). I chanced upon this film while checking out a Korean film title on the Web (lovehkfilm.com/panasia). What a find. This is a delightful, easy-going story about a young woman and her unexpected (or is it fate?) encounter with the young man whom the former tenant was involved with.

Just the film title is attractive enough: Art Museum By the Zoo. It's in Korean with English subtitles, director Lee Jeong-Hyang's debut film can surely grow on you, following the ups and downs (or the adventures) of an evolving relationship between Chun-Hee (sprightly and resolutely portrayed by Shim Eun-Ha) the wedding video lady photographer who dreams of a man that doesn't notice her, and Chul-Soo (portrayed by Lee Sung-Jae) the soldier on leave to find the girl he loves disappeared and discover Chun-Hee occupying the apartment instead. As things happen, the two come to accept each other's quirks and flaws, and seem to be quite at ease with one another in spite of their 'other distraction'. They even work together on a video script that Chun-Hee was trying to enter in a contest - a possible fairy tale of a romance.

Yes, the music track and song selections are simply infectious. The piano tunes are melodic, the strings set the mood, the jazzy ones are downright playful and complement the fun ingredients to the developing relationships of the two main characters. There's vibraphone, oboe or bassoon-like sounds and vocals, too. There is the '60's hit tune: "Let There Be Love" ("let there be you, let there be me, let there be oysters, under the sea…let there be birds, sing in the trees, someone to bless me, whenever I sneeze") to color up the leisurely pace of the unlikely tale of the twosome.

I really appreciate director Lee's music sensibility. Two other catchy songs (yes, lyrics in English), she wisely included. In fact the lyrics seem to describe the mood of the plot at times: the Swedish group Cardigans' "Sick & Tired" ("sick, tired and sleepless, with no one else to shine for…you can always say my attic has its charm, you can always say you did no major harm"), and the British group Beautiful South's "Good As Gold (Stupid As Mud)" ("Don't know what I'm doing here, I'll carry on regardless…I want my love, my joy, my laugh, my smile, my needs…I want my sun-drenched, wind-swept Ingrid Bergman kiss"). What an endearing - charming to say the least - film to enjoy.

This is a romantic comedy that is actually entertaining and smart, not another kleenex, dull, cloned romantic comedy from Hollywood.

Rather going through the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy loses all dignity to crawl back to the girl route, this film is pretty straightforward. Two lonely people, a guy who is on leave from the army and an aspiring screenwriter/wedding photographer female share an apartment together. They are brought together through contrived circumstances. He is trying to get back with his girlfriend (who previously lived in the apartment) and she is working up the guts to approach an attractive older man.

Ah, plot doesn't matter much, its the comedy here that counts. The two leads are gorgeous and have great chemistry together, sparring and inadvertently helping each other and of course, falling in love. Although again, the main situation is awfully contrived, it doesn't matter because the acting, setting and insuring situations all have a realistic edge to them.

The main actor plays the no-nonsense kind of guy who can actually cook and knows how to run his life. He's great when he's acting extremely peeved and horrified by the girl's awful living habits (like having no cups at all!) The actress really shines, she's better than Meg Ryan! She plays cutsy to a T yet also shows her lonliness, living basically day to day out of a meager salary. When was the last time you've seen a character in a romantic comedy who had money problems? C'mon, Bridget Jones, Kate & Leopold, they all show fabulously wealthy or successful people. The characters here are more sympathetic and real.

A great hoot. Subtitles do not matter.

The Art Museum by the Zoo is a romantic comedy from Corea that's actually quite subtle and doesn't try for maximum punch like many of its counterparts, but attempts to tell the story somewhat naturally.

The setup is a little complicated, as a man takes leave from army service to visit his girlfriend, returning to their apartment only to find that another woman is living there! Stunned and shocked he gets the stranger, who is a would-be screenwriter, to help him meet up with his lost love, only to discover that she loves another (not a big surprise at all). So left without anywhere to go and having used all his money to pay the writer's rent (which she couldn't afford), they end up moving in together for the remainder of his leave.

Of course, you have clashing personalities: the tidy rigid pessimistic man and the messy wandering idealistic woman, which helps to set up the comedy. Now the comedy itself isn't a belly-laugh-type comedy. Rather, it just sets up situations where these two have to interact and because of how the characters are written, conflict naturally occurs.

In the meantime, they end up working on the screenplay together and through this screenplay, which plays out as a movie in a movie starring their respective love interests, we get to see the progress of their own relationship. There's no surprises here. The aesthetic is warm and gentle, with a look that appears to be gained through a yellow filter. There's something a little unearthly about the overall direction, but I found it likable enough.

Of course, in the end, this piece is rather unsurprising and straightforward and while its a far stretch for what normally occurs in Corean cinema, in itself, it's not exactly impressive. And the film, with its gentle pacing and rather simple story threatens to be a little forgettable as well, but having little quirks like the movie within the movie helps to distinguish it from its more formulaic peers. All the same, I find it hard to say that this is anything special.

I have to say that I somewhat enjoyed this piece. I certainly didn't find myself disliking it, but at the same time, I wasn't particularly impressed. I think that this might be a nice change of pace for those who like romantic comedies but have been inundated by the same old formulas time and time again and want something quieter and more gentle. It's certainly not a bad film, but unlike the characters in the story, the movie didn't win my heart. 6/10.