Lee Sang-ah (이상아)

Sad situation makes an uplifting tale

Source | 2007/01/02 | Permalink |

There are films that make you feel shame for laughing at the plot's dull humor; others make you proud even after you cry. When the director of "Like a Virgin" confesses in the film's special edition with his hand over his heart that he was proud the film was his debut work ― not because the film was well made, but because it was the type of film he always wanted to make ― you're almost jealous that you don't have the same gift of depicting human dignity with such poignancy and warmth as he did.
To put it simply, "Like a Virgin" is a beautiful film. It's funny, decent and helplessly optimistic about all the things in life we want to avoid, whether they be poverty, alienation or violence.
The film is the story of a fat teenage boy named Dong-gu (Ryoo Deok-hwan), who firmly believes that he is a girl. His hope is to undergo a sex operation to become a "real" woman and date his Japanese teacher (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) one day. But first he needs the approval of his abusive father...| More