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24. A Petty Middle Man...
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 Home > Feature> 100 Korean Films |
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A Petty Middle Manager (Samdeung gwajang) (1961)
 Director : Lee Bong-Rae
Production Company : Hubanki Production
Date of Rate : 1961-05-04
Running Time : 100 min.
Opening Theater : Kukdo Theater
Genre : Melodrama
Staff :
Screenplay(Adaptation) : Jeon Beom-Seong
Producer : Lee Bong-Rae
Director of PhotoGraphy : Lee Byeong-Sam
Gaffer : Park Chang-Ho
Music : Kim Yong-Hwan
Art Director : Seo Won
Editor : Kim Hee-Su
Sound/Recording : Han Yang, Sohn In-Ho
Cast(Actor/Actress) :
Kim Seung-Ho, Do Keum-Bong, Hwang Jeong-Sun, Kim Hee-Gap, Bang Su-Il, Bok Hye-Suk
Synopsis
Gu (Kim Seung-ho), who manages the eastern branch of Samcheolli Transportation Company, is the head of a large family comprising his father, his mother (Bok Hye-suk), his wife (Joo Jeung-nyeo), his son Yeong-gu, and his daughter Yeong-hui (Do Kum-bong). On the very day Yeong-hui starts her new job at his office, Gu is humiliated by Director Song (Kim Hee-gap), who berates him in front of his daughter. One day, Song asks Gu to convert the second floor of the branch office into a dance school for his mistress Myeong-ok (Yoon In-ja). Gu complies, and is promoted to the head of the welfare department at Samcheolli headquarters. Meanwhile, Gu's daughter Yeong-hui sees Gwon O-cheol, who works in the welfare department, meeting Myeong-ok at a coffee shop, and spreads a rumor about their supposed relationship throughout the company. In fact, Myeong-ok and Gwon O-cheol are merely relatives, and the latter had been advising Myeong-ok to end her relationship with Song. At the end of an intense argument, Song lies to his wife that Myeong-ok is Gu's mistress. Furious, Gu's and Song's wives storm into Myeong-ok's house. Song happens to be there, taking a bath, and Song's wife discovers him in the act. Gu's wife realizes that she was mistaken about her husband and returns to her home. Myeong-ok decides to end her affair with Song and go back to her hometown. Learning the truth about the entire incident, Yeong-hui apologizes to Gwon O-cheol and the two make peace.
Notes
 "A representative family comedy from the 1960s that uses bold satiric elements to reflect the atmosphere of the years surrounding the democratization movement of April 19, 1960"
A Petty Middle Manager is a representative example of the family comedy, a genre which enjoyed great popularity during the 1960s golden age of Korean cinema. Numbered among the finest Korean movies to be made during the years leading up to and following 1960, it offers various windows into the social confusion that prevailed between the April 19 revolution and the May 16 coup d'etat and the rapidly changing consciousness of the public during that turbulent transition. Although A Petty Middle Manager maintains a comedic tone and an affectionate eye on the family throughout, it nonetheless takes a critical stance toward society by foregrounding the corruption of such agents of power as upper management and tax officials.
Through the everyday occurrences and unusual events experienced by three generations of members in a family headed by Kim Seung-ho, A Petty Middle Manager depicts the lives of the lower middle classes beleaguered by inter-generational conflict, ineffectual patriarchs, and social corruption with a warm yet critical gaze. The film, which offers surprisingly direct commentary on the social conditions of the day, pits the older generation against the younger and announces the impending arrival of a new era. In the opening scene, the grandfather shows his lack of understanding for the new generation by chiding his granddaughter for daring to work outside the home as she sets off for her first day at her new job. Unable to recognize that the world is changing, the grandfather is rebuked as a member of the old generation who is falling behind the times. At the same time, the character of Gu (played by Kim Seung-ho) differs from the traditional image of the patriarch represented by his father: honest but unable to command authority, he stands for the head of the petty bourgeois household who finds himself helpless both within and outside the home. He fails to maintain his dignity even in front of his own daughter, who starts working at the same company, while his wife nags and belittles him at every turn. He brings home a slim paycheck, out of which his wife grants him a measly allowance. His future advancement in the company rests in the hands of Director Song, whom he cannot help but obey. The Korean society portrayed in this film is rife with bribery, extortion, toadyism, and corruption. In order to survive in this environment, the lower middle classes have no choice but to ride on the coattails of those with power. However, A Petty Middle Manager does not take an unconditionally forgiving attitude toward the petty bourgeoisie. Neither the corrupt Song nor the impotent Gu is a character who can hold their own in the new era.
There are several lines of particular interest in the film. The first is when Gu's wife (played by Hwang Jung-seun) directly invokes the April 19 revolution by telling the official who has come to collect the electricity tax, "Even after April 19, the corruption of public servants and the hardships of lower-middle-class life haven't changed at all. All politicians are the same." Another is her commentary that "the freedom to eat, the freedom to speak these are the freedoms of the mouth." However, even she demonstrates the typical attitudes of the petty bourgeoisie: she attempts to offer up bribes for her husband's promotion, and tries to get out of paying the electricity tax by slipping the official a little grease money. A Petty Middle Manager also affords a glimpse into the culture of the early 1960s by featuring popular phrases of the time, such as "que sera, sera," "apres," and "oversense."
Director Bio: Lee Bong-rae (1922-1998)
Director Lee Bong-rae was born in Cheongjin, Hamgyeongbuk-do, in 1922. He dropped out of the literature department in Rikkyo University. He made his directorial debut in 1959 with the film Terms of happiness (Haengbog-ui jogeon) (1959) and went on to direct comedies which were known for their contemporary and witty dialogue. He made comedies full of social satire which received much critical acclaim. His most important works include A Petty Middle Manager (Samdeung Gwajang) (1961), The Apron (Haengjuchima) (1964), Hwang, Man of Wealth at Mapo(Mapo Saneun Hwangbuja) (1965) and You've Made a Mistake (Jalmot Bosyeot-dagu) (1969).
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