Secret Zoo

A disproportionately large number of my favourite comedies are from South Korea. They are generally medium to low budget films like Lee Hae-jun's Castaway on the Moon, Koo Ja-hong's The Last Wolf and Dangerously Excited (BTW when is Koo going to make another film?!) and, indeed, Son Jae-gon's own My Scary Girl and Villain and Widow. They are extremely well-acted by stars and lesser known performers alike. And most importantly, each one is not just well-written (witty, complex, subtle), but also seems to be based on a genuinely personal, original way of seeing the world.

Secret Zoo is another such uncategorisable film. I suppose you could call it a small business vs corporate giant comedy, with Ahn Jae-hong succumbing to the charms of his new environment the way Peter Riegert fell for the Scottish village in Bill Forsyth's Local Hero. But Riegert didn't have to pretend to be a polar bear, did he? Secret Zoo contains many such unexpected surreal touches and laugh-out-loud moments. Most of them are full of warmth towards the main characters, but some of them are coldly critical of humans' baser instincts. My only complaint about Secret Zoo is that it's a bit too gentle, lacking the edge of Son Jae-gon's previous two films. Perhaps that has something to do with the film being based on a webcomic. (I think Son was the only writer of his other films.) But it's still better than a lot of comedies out there. Highly recommended.