Money Talks in `My Generation'

By Joon Soh
Culture Editor

'My Generation' With English Subtitles
The domestic film "My Generation" will be screened with English subtitles at Hypertheque Nada, a theater in Taehangno, Seoul, starting Friday.

The film, which competed in the New Currents section for young filmmakers at this year's Pusan International Film Festival, is being released by the Art Plus Network, an association of arthouse theaters throughout the nation.

"My Generation" will be shown daily at Hypertheque Nada at 11:20 a.m., 1:10 p.m., 3 p.m. 7:10 p.m. and 8:50 p.m.

"My Generation" may be specifically about the lives of working-class youths, but the quietly powerful film talks about a subject that can be understood by people from any generation.

Money, or more precisely the lack of it, underlies all the actions and decisions made by the film's characters, a phenomenon that's all too common in economically difficult times.

However, the ordinariness of the story is precisely what makes the film so striking. Byong-sok (Kim Byong-seok) and Jae-kyong (Yoo Jae-kyeong) are a pair of 20-somethings who, outside of being on the quiet and melancholy side, seem to be a typical portrait of youths who have no clear idea of where they're heading and meander along before finally settling on a direction.

Unfortunately for the couple, the pressing need for money refuses to wait for them to figure things out. Byong-sok, an aspiring filmmaker who makes a living setting charcoal fires at a restaurant, struggles to pay off his new video camera. His life becomes more complicated when he finds out his older brother has taken out a large loan in his name.

On the other hand, Jae-kyong, Byong-sok's morose girlfriend, finds it hard to hold down a steady job because of her melancholy demeanor. Fired by her last employer for being "too depressing", Jae-kyong's life revolves around dealing with her mounting credit card debt.

The financial pressure that faces the couple, however, never feels completely overwhelming, which heightens the sense of quiet desperation underlying "My Generation". Throughout most of the film, Jae-kyong and Byong-sok stay at the edge of potential poverty without completely falling in, a fate unfortunately shared by many in the real world.