giammarcoken

FAREWELL opens with actress Yeong-ok (Kim Ji-mi) lost in downtown Paris. Apparently not a patron of taxis, Yeong-ok walks around (from the airport?!) and tries to get directions to her destination from the locals. Not speaking French is causing some problems as she is forced to rely on broken English. Finally giving up, Yeong-ok places a call to the Korean embassy to get some help. An employee at the embassy, Catherine (Oh Su-mi) discerns her location, picks her up and takes her to the hotel. Before leaving, she promises to take Yeong-ok on a tour of the city the next day.

Alone in her room, we learn the reason to Yeong-ok's trip to Paris. She is looking for her ex-husband, Ho-il (Shin Sung-il). Their separation had not been easy for Yeong-ok who could best be described as 'clingy'. During her flashback where Ho-il walks out on her, she is lying on the floor with her arms wrapped about his knees, pleading with him not to go. This does not seem to be the best method to keep someone who claims they are feeling suffocated in a relationship and Ho-il quickly leaves.

Catherine shows up the next day to give a tour of the city as promised. Later, she leaves Yeong-ok in the care of her beatnik friend while she prepares for her date with her fiance. If you cannot guess who her fiance is, you do not watch enough melodramas. Yes, Catherine is preparing to marry Ho-il. When the ex-spouses are introduced at Catherine's home, they pretend not to know each other for her sake and the sake of her parents. However, when Ho-il later shows up at the hotel, it takes less than 5 minutes for Yeong-ok to seduce him. It seems as if Yeong-ok has won her husband back. That is, until Catherine is in a car accident. Then Ho-il is forced to choose which woman he pities enough to marry.

The story of FAREWELL is not bad, but it does drag in parts. This is especially true of the travelogue segment. When Catherine shows up and gives Yeong-ok a tour of Paris, the viewer is advised to make a sandwich, brew some coffee, and maybe clean the floor. By the time you are finished, the tour of Paris will just be ending. I was unaware of this and watched more than 20 minutes (of a 92 minute movie) showing footage of scenes of the Eiffel Tower, scenes of the Louvre Museum, scenes from the Eiffel Tower, scenes of the Arc de'Triumph, scenes of the Eiffel Tower....

However, more than compensating for the boring packaged tour is the mirth I received from the parade of hideous fashions foisted on the lead actors. Kim Ji-mi and Oh Su-mi seem to be in competition as to who can wear the ugliest bell-bottomed jumpsuits. I haven't seen anything like them since I was a kid watching the Donnie and Marie Hour. And the unsuspecting viewer may be blinded by Shin Sung-il's retina-searing all-white suit. The colors of the clothes were not random however and serve multi-purposes. First, they made it very easy to locate the cast in the on-location crowded Paris street shots. The clothes were also used for contrast such as when Yeong-ok goes to Catherine's home wearing a hanbok and presents Catherine, who at the times is wearing a midriff-revealing outfit, with her own set of traditional clothes. And finally, one of the most artistic shots in the movie is greatly enhanced with a bright blue velvet bathrobe which 'accidently' gets shed and used as a blanket.

For the most part, the acting is good. Kim Ji-mi overplays her role a bit and it makes Yeong-ok seem rather pathetic and irritating to the modern audience instead of gaining the viewer's sympathy as was intended. Oh Su-mi steals the show however with her rendition of the Korean-French girl, Catherine. Unfortunately, Miss Oh's career in films was rather limited, appearing in less than 30 films. Her most recent film was 1986's EMPEROR OF SEOUL (sometimes listed as JESUS OF SEOUL).

FAREWELL inspired a supposed sequel, FAREWELL 2 (1974), but it was a sequel in name only. None of the same characters appear or are referenced in any way. The basic plot of FAREWELL was used in PARIS AEMA (1988). This, apparently enjoyed more success as it was released in Japan and Taiwan and one website claims that it was presented at the 39th Berlin Festival and the 42nd Cannes Film Fesitval! FAREWELL was directed by Shin Sang-ok, produced by Shin Sang-ok, and had cinematography by Shin Sang-ok. Shin Sang-ok let Hwang Mun-pyeong do the music.

The story of Mi-in, opens with three struggling rock musicians pounding the pavement looking for work. They search the streets of modern Seoul, but are ejected from every night club, cafe, and bar they visit. It is apparent from their conversation that they are accustomed to this kind of rejection. It also becomes apparent that they have not worked in awhile as their landlord kicks them out for non-payment. Broke and wandering the streets with their meager possessions, they eventually give in to hunger and are at the point of trading their instruments for food when they meet an unnamed young woman (Kim Mi-yeong). She overhears their plight and pays for their meal. She reveals that she lives in the same boarding house as they did, and she squares things with the landlord, paying their rent for a month. Naturally, the men are grateful. However, the band's leader, Shin Jung-hyeon (playing himself), takes the woman's kindness to have deeper meaning. He begins fantasizing scenarios where he confesses his love to her and she shyly admits her attraction to him. Shortly thereafter, the band lands a job and rather quickly become the hottest attraction in Seoul. The men celebrate their first paycheck by preparing gifts to thank the woman to whom they credit their success. However, they are disappointed to learn that she has apparently moved out of the building. Their meteoric rise continues but Jung-hyeon's fantasies have become an obsession that threaten to destroy the band. Composer and musician Shin Jung-hyeon did an adequate job in his big screen debut but he was no stranger to movies, having written musical scores for the films such as The Blue Apple (1969) and Oh My Love (1970). His plain and rather dumpy appearance lent believability to this role where a simple act of kindness is interpreted as much more. His character is not well acquainted with women and all of his fantasies are re-creations of movie scenes. I recognized Love Story, Romeo and Juliet and the Graduate among them. Kim Mi-yeong, who previously appeared in One-Eyed Jack In Hong Kong, also does well with what is given her. The actress was required to develop two distinct personalities for the character--one for the fantasy life created by Jung-hyeon, and one for reality which is revealed near the end of the film. Performances by supporting actors Lee Nam-yi and Kwon Yong-nam as the base player and drummer are good. I was surprised to learn that this was their only movie credit so they may in fact have been musicians not actors. So Yeon, who played the band's vocalist Kang-hie, appeared miscast as the role required a much younger woman, however one must assume that she was chosen on account of her singing voice rather than her age or acting ability. Lee Hyeong-pyo was a prolific director of the late 1960's and through the 70's with about 60 films in his filmography. Many of his other movies focus on redemption and the correction of one's faults. Mi-in differs in that the main character is mired in his imaginary world which eventually threatens his success, friendships and sanity but when reality rears its ugly head, he makes no attempt to recognize or correct his mistakes.

Be warned, however, that the 70's rock music dubbed in and overly used throughout the movie, is not for everyone and the sound, as usual for the older Korean movies, is not in synch with the images which can be very distracting.

The movie opens on Kim Jin-gyu walking the streets of Seoul. In this film he plays a once well-recognized actor because people whisper about him as he walks by and others ask questions like "Didn't you used to be...?" However, perhaps more disturbing to him is the fact that most people take no notice of him. He is aging and has not worked in quite awhile. He happens upon a movie being shot and as he watches the young actor and actress at work, his mind retreats to a happier time when he was in their place and deeply in love with his co-star.

He is brought back to the present by the arrival of an old friend, Hwang Jeong-sun. With the introduction of this second character, I realized that keeping track of the character's names was going to be simple. All the actors in this film are playing themselves--or at least using their real names. Ms Hwang will act as our designated expository device and they rehash old times ending their discussion with the tragic death of Kim's true love. However Hwang Jeong-sun is not finished yet and tells Jin-gyu about a daughter that was kept a secret from him.

Kim Jin-gyu is ecstatic and is determined to help the girl in any way he can. He uses his connections to get the girl an audition. She takes the stage name Nam Jeong-im and quickly becomes the most popular new face on the silver screen. After her success is assured, he disappears from her life without revealing their relationship. Nam Jeong-im, however, has discovered who he is and sets out to locate and assist him with plans of a come back.

Kim Jin-gyu gives a good performance-I cannot say I liked his character much, but that has no bearing on whether I appreciated the acting. Mr Kim began acting in 1943 and continued working in films until the early 1980's, but enjoyed the height of his success in the 50's and early 60's.

Nam Jeong-im and Hwang Jeong-sun would have been instantly recognizable to a movie-goer in Korea in the 1960's. Hwang Jeong-sun was by far the more accomplished actress and appeared in over 300 films in the course of her more than 40 years of acting. She had very distinct features that set her apart from most other actresses and her solid figure often landed her roles that were often more interesting than the romantic lead.

Two of the supporting actors who deserve mention are Heo Jang-kang and Han Seong. Mr Heo has appeared in many of the older films that I have seen and always turns out an entertaining performance. In this movie, he plays the president of the production company. While I can easily trace Heo Jang-kang's career, I am more curious about actor Han Seong who gives an adequate performance as Nam Jeong-im's co-star and love interest. His credits seem to be limited to 8 or 9 movies made between 1967 and 1969 when he vanishes from film.

Director Kim Soo-yong, recently honored at the 2002 Pusan Film Festival, has made a total of 109 movies and one several awards for his works in the 60's. I wonder how he could keep track of what he was doing, at times he was directing nearly a movie a month. Perhaps his most famous movie is A Seaside Village (1965).

For me though, the joy of watching this film is not really in the story. It is the posters. A lot of time is spent in the production office and movie theaters. In the backgrounds, we can see a variety of different posters from movies of that era. It only increased my desire to see as many different movies from the Golden Age of Korean cinema