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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Talking Architect"

Chung Guyon is an architect who's probably not going to be around much longer, although he certainly doesn't look like it. For the longest time I thought he was wearing a mike for the sake of the documentary. Actually it's because his voice is too weak to be heard without some artificial assistance. It's an easy fact to miss, given the sheer energy Chung Guyon puts into lecturing and discoursing on the importance of architecture. He's the kind of college professor that invokes inspiration and loyalty- no wonder director Jeong Jae-eun practically dedicates a whole documentary to him.

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But she honors Chung Guyon much more profoundly than just reciting the story of his life. Instead, "Talking Architect" is the story of why Chung Guyon loves architecture, and why we should too. For the most part this is just communicated verbally, through interviews with Chung Guyon and his contemporaries. But the way they discuss the field is surprisingly relatable, such that when actual specific examples come up, it's very easy to see the abstract principles they discuss in action.

Take the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. I'm in that neighborhood frequently, and neither like nor dislike the structure. It kind of looks like something from the future. Chung Guyon's opinion on the project is quite distinct, though, and this becomes all the more obvious when alternate designs are shown. While the Dongdaemun Design Plaza we have right now is all right, looking at this conceptual art I can't help but sigh thinking about what might have been.

The larger point of "Talking Architecture" is that the buildings we go in and out of every day should be designed beyond simple considerations of art and structure. They need to take into account the fact that people are actually going to use these buildings on a regular basis. And on a regular basis, I'd much rather go somewhere ecological, colorful, with lots of air and windows than I would a structure whose main selling point is a large number of oblique angles.

In the context of Chung Guyon's life too, this takes on essential consideration with the man's actual work. His main claim to fame in the real world is designing libraries. And speaking as someone who does lot of research in libraries, I very much appreciate it when the building's design takes into account the fact that people go to libraries to read books. Especially children. For a child, a comfortable library is a library they will come to again and again and again.

Some time back I reviewed "Talking Architect, City:Hall", embarassingly admitting during the course of that piece that the documentary probably would have been a lot more interesting if I knew anything about architecture. Well, "Talking Architect" is that primer. It's the one that explains everything, and provides the theoretical grounding through which the bureaocratic mishaps of the city hall project can be understood. "Talking Architect" is a very informative, accessible film well-recommended to those who wish to expand their intellectual horizons regarding an oft-ignored facet of everyday life.

Review by William Schwartz

"Talking Architect" is directed by Jeong Jae-eun

 

Available on DVD from YESASIA

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