Summary
Lee Byung-hun stalks his wife and her new boyfriend in Sydney. Or does he? It’s either a lighthearted slice-of-life or a reflective study on letting go. Maybe both.
A SINGLE RIDER seems straightforward in its telling, but warrants some reassessment on reflection. Based partly on the true story of Korean tourist in Australia, Lee Joo-Young’s spirited debut proves that truth is stranger than fiction.
After his company goes bankrupt, fund manager Jae-hoon (global superstar Lee Byung-hun) makes a spontaneous decision to join his wife Soo-Jin (Kong Hyo-Jin) and son in Sydney, Australia. While watching his family from afar, he discovers that Soo-Jin has moved on with Cris (Jack Campbell). Jae-hoon also meets Ji-Na (Train to Busan‘s Ahn So-Hee), a Korean tourist who has overstayed her visa after falling into debt with some bad hombres.
Lee’s script meanders through the emotional spectrum, from the quaint slice-of-life to something more haunting and ethereal. At times, Jae-hoon’s sudden appearances verge on the comical, while at other times they feel voyeuristic. Ji-Na’s arc is far more compelling, and one suspects this is where director Lee’s true interests are invested. Of course, the tiny canine star of Chichi steals absolutely every scene that he is in, and we would happily watch a feature-length spin-off of the pup’s adventures.
Native Sydneysiders will no doubt call some of the flexible geography into question. The 380 bus route appears to have the magical quality of being the only bus in the harbour city that goes everywhere, and you’d be led to believe that Bondi Beach and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are a mere stroll away from each other. Of course, later developments in the film may make this an allowable indulgence, but it does serve as a miniature barrier of believability throughout.
It makes the city look beautiful though, including loving shots of iconic structures as Soo-Jin attempts to revive her violin career by auditioning at the Opera house. At the very least, this subplot gives her character some purpose beyond being the subject of the male gaze. Little details, like the cluster of Korea restaurants on Pitt Street, do add an air of authenticity to certain sequences, appropriate for the darker tonal shift during the first meeting of Jae-hoon and Ji-Na.
A third act reveal may greatly change the way that you think about A SINGLE RIDER, which is an otherwise lighter narrative about a man attempting to exorcise his regrets in life. While it is not for us to spoil it for you here, director Lee has indicated that she left this revelation in plain sight, and instead sees the film as a one of contemplative self-reflection.
2017 | Korea | DIR: Lee Joo-Young | WRITER: Lee Joo-Young | CAST: Lee Byung-hun, Kong Hyo-Jin, Ahn So-hee, Jack Campbell | RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes | DISTRIBUTOR: KOFFIA (AUS) | RELEASE DATE: 19 August 2017 (KOFFIA)
