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[HanCinema's Film Review] "The Room Nearby"

Eon-Joo (played by Jung Yu-mi) is a young woman who, like many in their mid-twenties, finds herself adrift in life. She has a goal, and a plan to get there, but it's not a very good plan. Eon-Joo barely even believes in it herself and dreams of possible alternate solutions- while at the same time mocking these propositions as being unrealistic. She's derided for not being passionate enough in her work even though her work is always couched in utilitarian terms and no one, least of all Eon-Jo, seems to expect her to enjoy it.

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Seok-Hee (played by Ye Soo-jung) is an older woman, the director of a business large enough to warrant a personal driver. In many ways her life has exactly what Eon-Joo thinks is necessary for, if not happiness, at least some peace of mind. And yet Seok-Hee seems to be suffering in the same silent way. Her behavior, though, is just a bit more desperate- which is appropriate enough, given the context.

Both of these characters have gone through serious emotional grief. They both exist within a society that has little interest in the way that people function emotionally. And they both feel far more alone than they like to admit. The basic scenario in "The Room Nearby" isn't clearly defined, and indeed, the ending still leaves us with about as many questions as answers. But that's really the whole point.

Prosperity, at least from my American upbringing, was always promised to us to be the panacea by which all of us would be able to live joyful, happy lives, if only we stayed focus on maintaining our current living situations and constantly think about our futures. "The Room Nearby" is an analysis of what it actually means to try and live our lives according to this credo. You'll notice that there's no room in this philosophy for human feelings- Eon-Joo and Seok-Hee represent what happens when we pretend like those problems will just resolve themselves.

This isn't an especially happy movie. There's surprisingly little that can actually be singled out as being hopelessly tragic, and the audience is never really moved to tears- but again, this is part of the point. Our leads have problems that are just bad enough to warrant concern, but still seem superfluous enough that discussing them honestly feels like complaining.

"The Room Nearby" doesn't pretend like temperment is the only problem going forward. It's fairly clear that even if Eon-Joo did have a better attitude, it wouldn't change the reality of her situation. But while this film is short on happiness, it has a surprising amount of hope. By plumbing the depths of the characters' social situations, "The Room Nearby" does a wonderful job of exploring the question of where we are in this modern world, where we're going, and whether either of these places are ideal. As is such, I recommend it very highly. If you've ever identified with any of the feelings I've mentioned here, "The Room Nearby" has a lot worth thinking about.

"The Room Nearby" is directed by Goh Tae-jeong and features Jung Yu-mi, Ye Soo-jung and Park Hyuk-kwon

Review by William Schwartz

 

 

Available in KAFA Films 2008 DVD Collection

DVD KAFA Films 2008 Collection (En Sub)

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