ochie

This is an interesting movie. On one side you have a music producer who received an lp from someone in his past. He decided to play the song on his radio program. On the other side, you have a tv shopping network telemarketer out for a night drive and while listening to the song played by the music producer she found herself in a road accident. The song by the velvet underground took new meaning for Soo-hyun and she emailed a request. Dong-hyun, the producer, met Soo-hyun through chatting. Later as they shared stories and problems they realized that each one was entangled in a love triangle (past and present).

One might think that this film seems familiar when compared with some foreign box office hits. However, I enjoyed the most its attention to tensions in conversations, how the characters' actions and facial expressions revealed what they did not want to know and did not want others to know. The film also focused on scenes depicting the characters in the same place but not seeing each other (literally and symbolically). A play on its title, contact.

In the last scene, some members of the audience could not believe at what's happening (shots before the film's end). Some would verbalize their thoughts on the matter. I guess they felt the tension and urgency of the scene. I think that is the beauty of the last scene. I guess you just have to see it and judge for yourself.

I'm giving an overview of the movie here. Mr. Baum went to his doctor for the results of some tests. He was told (after the doctor's convoluted computations) that he has an aggressive cancer and has only 90-92 minutes to live. Mr. Baum then decided to wrap things up and called and met several people close to him. The rest of the film showed how Mr. Baum used his 92 minutes and how people reacted to his actions.

Actually, the audience acted as members of a group touring a museum of sorts in honor of Mr. Baum (a device shown in the movie itself). Inside the museum, the guide would comment on several items, notes, and even a snap shot of Mr. Baum which traced his last few minutes. We were given a treat when some thoughts were 'recorded' and we were shown the dream-thoughts of Mr. Baum of what he thought would happen in several scenarios.

All in all, the film was a good movie because of its interesting script, characters and devices. Long after the film, one might yet think about Mr. Baum and how one will spend his last few minutes on earth.

I first saw a segment of the film before I got to watch the film a few weeks later. The segment focused on Leolo's attempt to explore his brother's hidden magazine while inside the comfort room. The segment, in retrospect, showed what the film was about, life as seen through Leolo's eyes. Through Leolo, we get to know about life and the great part tomatoes take in it; we take a peek on the hidden needs of adults and we even get to know how a child thinks of exacting revenge. The film has both humor and drama. We get to see quirky family rituals, secret trysts with refs and books and how ironies abound in Leolo's family.