Changpihae

Another drama, another movie seen at the Berlin International Festival this year. Very slow moving and with mainly a female perspective. While very nice told and acted, it did not grip as much as some other dramas, that I watched. There is only so much drama that you can watch after all, but I felt that something special was missing. Again this does not make this a bad movie in any way though.

Korean cinema seemed to struggle the last few years, after a high it had before. But those are just reflections of mine, that might not be true at all. It just felt that way. And while this is a drama and not a period piece and does not have the impact of a Kim Ki Duk movie, it still is worthwhile ...

Korean films in general are noted on how they blend genres (ie a horror film might have a family drama/comedy in it). This film does blend genres. You have lesbian romance, crime, existential dread, comedy, etc. It does suffer from pacing and could be 20-30 minutes shorter. This is more of an afternoon movie. It is low budget, but knows how to spend it's money for the most part. People looking for a straight forward lesbian movie should be ready to lean into Korean style filmmaking. How the film is marketed is all wrong, which probably led to many bad reviews. I would suggest The Handmaiden (2016) before this one. But this isn't a bad choice if you are familiar with Korean cinema If you are looking for a solid normal lesbian film, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.