Summary
A curious mixture of mystery and dreamlike abstraction, here’s a film that pulls on some unexpected threads – and is disarmingly funny at times too.
Jung Jin-Young is probably best known to fans of Korean cinema from his appearances in front of the camera. A frequent collaborator with filmmaker Lee Joon-ik (Once Upon a Battlefield), he’s also won acting awards for multiple drama series such as Glamorous Temptation. For his feature directorial debut, he’s chosen to helm a psychological mystery that’s not quite what you’d expect.
Almost every official description of this film gives away far too much, and there’s a genuine pleasure in discovery. So, let’s be a little more vague here. Married couple Soo-Hyeok (Bae Soo-Bin) and Yi-Young (Cha Soo-Yeon) have recently moved to a small town, and neighbour Hae-Kyun (Jung Hae-Kyun) becomes intrigued by Yi-Young’s nocturnal changes. Following a tragic incident, detective Hyeong-Goo (Cho Jin-Woong) arrives in town to find his life turned upside down.
ME AND ME (사라진 시간) is not a film that’s easy to penetrate, which seems deliberate on the part of writer/director Jung. Without giving away too much, the first act concentrates on the couple, keeping us at arm’s length with something akin to an ethereal love story. With the introduction of the detective, the audience is left to share in his confusion.
The translated English title speaks partly to the theme of duality at play here, the kind that David Lynch and countless contemporaries have long played with. Yet the more literal translation of “lost time” may give us a few more clues as to the lost highway Hyeong-Goo is on. As events and characters repeat with a different perspective, the film becomes a puzzle to be assembled.
Cho Jin-Woong (The Spy Gone North, Believer) is as reliable a lead as ever. While he could happily play detectives for the rest of his career, the subversion of the traditional detective role here is enough to distinguish it from his previous high-profile performances. The supporting cast, especially Jung Hae-Kyun, are also excellent. Through the local villagers, much of the unlikely humour of social situations comes through.
Not all of these elements pull together as effectively as one might like, and the ending is apt to leave more than one viewer a little cold. Yet there’s some intriguing concepts here, and it feels reasonably safe to say that Jung’s directorial debut marks him as a voice to listen out for in the future.
2020 | South Korean | DIRECTOR: Jung Jin-Young | WRITER: Jung Jin-Young | CAST: Cho Jin-woong, Bae Soo-bin, Jeong Hae-gyoon | DISTRIBUTOR: Korean Film Festival in Australia (AUS)| RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 29 October – 5 November 2020 (KOFFIA)
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