Sarajin sigan

Saw this at the Imagine filmfestival 2021, usually in Amsterdam but now 100% online. As one fellow reviewer wrote: watching this is indeed "lost time" (one of the alternative film titles). I cannot explain how everyone can be so positive about this movie, with the exception of two fellow reviewers and me.

It is not a real detective, no whodunit in the traditional sense. Nothing is revealed in the end and we are left as confused as we were before the finale. I sat it out while waiting for a rational explanation, how the former cop maintains his looks and his own memories, though everyone sees the teacher in him, and he is treated accordingly. Intriguing, as it is exactly that same teacher whose death he was investigating. When the credits appeared, I was puzzled, but not in the positive and healthy sense after the usual detective story.

"Me and Me" has a very creative storyline. Many moments in the first part of the movie occurred again in the second part - but differently. When I watched the movie the first time, I did not know what happened. So I watched it a second time. Then it all made sense. The title confused me at first, but after watching the second time, I understood the reasoning for both titles. The Korean title which is translated in English as "Vanished (or Disappeared) Time, and the English language title, "Me and Me" both have significant meaning. One reviewer did not understand why the English language title, but I think they are both meaningful. The cast was the best! I would watch this movie again.

'Sarajin shigan' (boringly retitled in English as 'Me and Me') has one of the most innovative and original plot threads I have encountered this year. To know anything about the film's plot beforehand, apart from what's written in the logline, will seriously diminish the joy of discovering the story's bold, unpredictable turns. The genre treatment is very refreshing too, since this is one of those movies that do not fall in any particular category. The basic premise is a rather supernatural fantasy, but the course of events tend to run like a satirical social drama, and there's always an air of mystery hanging in the atmosphere. And intriguingly, the film manages to knit all these together into a compelling narrative - a very praiseworthy job. But truth be told, maybe in the hands of a more experienced writer/director these ideas would have flourished to their full potential. There are a few instances where the scope of the narrative and plot threads run beyond the grasp of the director, resulting in some relatively weaker, confusing scenes, especially towards the end. Also, all the actors did great to turn this rather outlandish story extremely convincing.

A current trend among Korean films is to pick up plot elements from established genre structures (like horror, thriller, sci-fi) and remodel them into a completely different genre of filmmaking, thus conveying sociopolitical standpoints by subverting their origins. This film should rightfully be placed along with the best examples of that trend, for its ingenuity, if only its narrative craft were as good.

The acting is great but I hate it when I watch a movie to the end and understand nothing.

Me and Me is a Korean rural mystery that changes tone and genre seemingly at the drop of a hat, but there's definitely something special about it. It's an intriguing narrative puzzle that avoids easy explanations in favor of character building and existential themes. The trailers make it seem like another "ordinary" crime-drama but they're ultimately very misleading, although Me and Me does (at times) fit the cop thriller mold. It needs to be mentioned that this unique film is a genre exercise for more adventurous viewers, those of you who don't mind bizarre/strange plotlines and can appreciate good filmmaking when it presents original, challenging ideas. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to be this pleasantly surprised. :)