Contract-based sex is not a revolutionary subject in the film industry. But a talented storyteller can turn a trite topic into a refreshing tale. Such is the reality thrust upon Gina Kim, director of "Never Forever".
"Never Forever", the first Korean-American joint film project, explores the blurred boundary between sex and affection, and director Kim puts her own creative spin on the storyline, showcasing her knack for spotting the complex yet fascinating elements of human emotions.
The film, made by VOX3 Films in New York and Now Film in Seoul, immediately generated a buzz in Korean film circles when it was screened in the main competition section at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to the up-and-coming director who has built her reputation fairly quickly at major international film festivals, "Never Forever" has another advantage. One of the film's producers is none other than Lee Chang-dong, a star director and former culture minister, who impressed both Korean and foreign critics with his latest flick "Secret Sunshine", which took home the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival last month.
"Never Forever" involves a Korean man, Ji-hah (Ha Jeong-woo), an illegal laborer in the United States. He barely makes a living through manual labor, but he is driven by the hope of getting his girlfriend, who is now in Korea, into America. Since Ji-hah does not have a green card, he is even disqualified as a sperm donor at a fertility clinic. Meanwhile, Sophie (Vera Farmiga) and her Korean-American husband Andrew (David McInnis) fall into despair when tests show that they are unable to have a child together. Sophie wants a child, so she makes an appointment at a fertility clinic where she happens to encounter Ji-hah. She notices that the man strangely resembles her husband -- tempting her to explore alternative options other than the fertility clinic treatment.
A few days later, Sophie offers a deal: she will pay him $300 when they have sex and $30,000 if she gets pregnant. After Ji-hah accepts the deal, their strange sex-for-money relationship begins, but they slowly sense that something has gone awry -- emotionally.
The refined storytelling, after all, reflects director Kim's renowned cinematic sensibility. Her previous films, "Gina Kim's Video Diary" (2002) and "Invisible Light" (2003), have been featured at many international film festivals, including Berlin, Locarno, Rotterdam, Vancouver, Pusan, and Torino. And her works have been screened at the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Museum and Lincoln Center in New York.
"Never Forever" also reflects her simple yet profoundly provocative aesthetic rigors and narrative techniques. Kim's key cinematic style has won critical acclaims around the world.
At a press preview held in Seoul on Thursday, director Kim said she had had many worries about whether the story's key idea -- absolute love that goes beyond class, race and nationality -- could be properly delivered to local audiences.
"The Korea title 'Dubeon-jje Sarang' (Second Love) literally means the second romantic relationship that comes after the first one. Women have some fantasy about their first love. But when their first love falls short, women tend to seek another love. And that's why we have chosen this Korean title", Kim told reporters at a news conference following the screening.
"Never Forever" may come as somewhat confusing in terms of genre for some Korean audiences because the film can be viewed as either a small-budget independent film or a highly sophisticated commercial film, depending on the perspective of the audiences.
Lee Chang-dong offered his take on the genre of the film: "I jumped into the project because the story is very Korean but the film itself has been seamlessly integrated into American society and culture".
Lee noted that "Never Forever" marks the country's first Korean-American joint production, with all the scenes shot in the United States. "We wanted to learn from each other, and we learned a lot from the American film system", Lee said.
Renowned British composer Michael Nyman has also joined the film project, providing memorable scores that fit the overall mood of "Never Forever". The movie is set to be released nationwide on June 21 through Prime Entertainment.
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