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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Hunting for Idiots" + Full Movie

Mostly known for a number of masterful psychosexual, melodramatic films focusing on the psychology of women, Kim Ki-young, nevertheless, strayed away from his trademark theme a number of times in his career. "Hunting for Idiots" is one of those titles, in a somewhat surreal story that is filled with symbolism and commentary.

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Kang-shik is a young man, who, as the movie begins, suffers from a car accident, ending up in a coma for about a year before waking up. With the first scenes criticizing the Korean health system of the time, we soon find Kang-shik in a mental asylum, where he stays in the same room with Hong-ik, a man of similar age who is committed there after several suicide attempts. Both of them seem to lack intensely in logic, but they gradually convince each other to escape, and eventually to search for Rabbit Island, which in their mind, is "The Promised Land". In order to raise money to travel there, they start doing odd jobs, all of which, however, end up with them either fired or resigned.

That is until they reach a mining town, and get to know a foreman who takes a liking to them, not only hiring them, but also giving them a place to live in his house, where he lives with his daughter Seok-ho. The girl seems to be of similar mental ability with the two men, but also seems to have a cunningness and greed about herself. Hong-ik soon falls in love with her, but a series of events have the three this time, traveling once more, doing odd jobs. Gradually, the dynamics seem to change.

Kim Ki-young directs a film that is essentially a road movie, with the only moment the protagonists stay still being the mine town, and even that, does not last for long. Furthermore, this part also functions as a kind of dichotomy, since the sociopolitical comments presented before give their stead to mostly psychosexual ones, after. As such, each odd job the two men take comments on the ways the various industries worked at the time, following the aforementioned remark about the health system. Baby chicks who are sold as sparrows who have become extinct due to pollution, cows that are fed water and are beaten to increase weight, fake medicine sold on the street, all paint a rather bleak picture, particularly revolving around the poor of the era, as we witness the duo roaming the shanty towns. The mining town itself also functions in the same regard, with the comment about the lack of safety for the workers eventually becoming an integral part of the narrative.

When the girl becomes part of the story though, the comments start to change in nature, as the will of her father to marry her off begins a chain of remarks that eventually lead to the concept of greed and how it shapes people, along with the ways sexual attraction is formed. The constant fighting between Kang-shik and Seok-ho for "dominance" over Hong-ik becomes a central element here, as much as the root of a constant tension between the two that actually permeates the narrative. The fact that the latter uses the concept of manhood to win Hong-ik over and the former her sex appeal offers another comment regarding human nature. At the same time, the destination, as in the case of the Rabbit Islands seems as futile as the trip itself in this case, in a rather pessimistic approach by Kim, which is cemented in the fate of Hong-ik, who, as the movie progresses, becomes the main protagonist here.

The chemistry of the three is quite good, and one of the bases for the progression of the movie, with Kim Byeong-hak and Bae Gyu-bin as Hong-ik and Gwang-sik respectively bouncing their illogicality off one another in the most meaningful and entertaining way. As soon as Eom Sim-jeong as Seok-ho appears, the chemistry changes, as the first notes of friction start appearing, but remains on the same level with her functioning as a different kind of femme fatale.

Hyeon Dong-chun's editing results in a relatively fast pace, that suits the episodic style of the narrative nicely, although the number of events here gets a bit overboard after a fashion, while coherence is somewhat lost for the sake of the comments the director wanted to make, in the most significant issue of the movie. Seo Jeong-min's cinematography focuses on realism, with the depictions of the many locations the protagonists appear in being as accurate as possible, even if the story is somewhat surrealistic.

It becomes obvious that at some point, Kim Ki-young got lost inside his own context and the plethora of episodes included in the story. At the same time though, the movie works well as a road film, as character analysis, and regarding its comments, resulting in a production that definitely deserves a watch even today.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Hunting for Idiots" is directed by Kim Ki-young, and features Eom Sim-jeong, Kim Byeong-hak, Bae Gyu-bin, Kim In-moon, Kim Won-seop, No Kyeong-sin. Release date in Korea: 1984/12/01.

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