<Deep Blue Night (Gipgo puleun bam)> (1985)

Director : Bae Chang-Ho
Production Company : Dong-A Export Co.
Date of Rate : 1984-12-31
Date of Theatrical Release : 1985-03-01
Running Time : 93 min.
Opening Theater : Myeongbo Theater
Genre : Melodrama

Staff :
Writer : Choi Inn-Ho
Screenplay(Adaptation) : Choi Inn-Ho
Producer : Lee Wu-Seok
Director of PhotoGraphy : Jeong Kwang-Seok
Gaffer : Kim Kang-Il
Music : Jeong Seong-Jo
Art Director : Lee Myeong-Su
Editor : Kim Hee-Su

Cast(Actor/Actress) :
Ahn Seong-Ki, Jang Mi-Hee, Jin Yu-Yeong, Choi Min-Hee

Synopsis

Baek Ho-bin (Ahn Sung-ki), who is in the U.S. illegally, dreams of getting rich fast so that he can bring his pregnant wife over from Korea. After conning a Korean immigrant (Choi Min-hee) and running off to L.A. with her money, Ho-bin marries another Korean woman named Jane (Jang Mi-hee) in order to procure a green card. Jane came to the U.S. as the wife of an American soldier who was stationed in Korea, but she and her husband got a divorce soon afterward. She now makes a living by getting paid to marry men who need a green card. Ho-bin and Jane move in together in order to fool the INS, and Jane, who has been living an isolated life, begins to feel love for Ho-bin. After they safely pass the INS's home interview, Ho-bin demands a divorce, but Jane refuses. She tries to hold on to Ho-bin by pretending to be pregnant. Ho-bin, in turn, tells her that his pregnant wife back home has died, in an attempt to lure Jane out into the desert and kill her. When the two of them finally arrive in Death Valley, Jane confesses that she lied about being pregnant and Ho-bin learns that his wife, tired of waiting for him, has aborted their baby and married another man. Ho-bin proposes to Jane that they go to Las Vegas on a "divorce trip." On the road to Las Vegas, Jane shoots Ho-bin then kills herself as well.

Notes

"An outstanding film by Bae Chang-ho, which pursues the mirage of the American Dream that captivated Korean society at the time, in a bleak landscape that takes full advantage of the scenery of Los Angeles"
Deep Blue Night, by director Bae Chang-ho, achieved both commercial and critical success upon its release. It was the most talked-about film of its day, boasting location shoots that captured the lavish yet empty and desolate atmosphere of the West Coast, impassioned performances by top stars Ahn Sung-ki and Jang Mi-hee, and sumptuous cinematography rich in sensory stimulus. One critic at the time praised the movie for "the remarkable sensuousness of each scene"and even compared it to "a Hollywood product." The villainous Ho-bin, who does not balk at murder if it serves his interests, and Jane, who is repeatedly alienated and abandoned throughout her life, are both victims of the American Dream. By contrasting the long shots of Death Valley at the beginning and end of the film with the lush night scenery of Los Angeles inserted into the middle of the film, Deep Blue Night sensuously depicts the American Dream as an arid fantasy that begins with a journey to the opulent city in pursuit of hopes and dreams but ends with an empty, bleak death in a desert landscape.
The American Dream in Deep Blue Night is actually twofold. In an interview, Bae Chang-ho criticized the cinematic equivalent of the "American Dream" i.e. the blind preference shown by Korean audiences for American movies and noted that the reason why he shot his film on-location in the U.S. and emphasized a sophisticated and sensuous style was because he wanted to demonstrate that, given comparable technological support, Korean movies could rise to the level of Hollywood films.

Director Bio: Bae Chang-ho (1953- )

After graduating from college in 1977, he began acquiringon the set experience working as an assistant director to director Lee Jang-ho. He made his directorial debut with People of Ko-bang Neighborhood (Kkobangdongne salamdeul) and went on to make Iron Men (Cheolindeul) (1982), The Flower at the Equator (Jeokdo-ui kkoch) (1983), Whale Hunting (Goraesanyang), The Winter That Year Was Warm (Geu hae gyeo-ul-eun ttatteushaessne), Deep Blue Night (Gipgo puleun bam) (1984), Whale Hunting 2 (Goraesanyang 2) (1985), Hwang Jin-I (Hwang Jini) (1986), Our Joyful Young Days (Gippeun wuri jeolmeun-nal), Hello God (An-nyeonghaseyo Hananim) (1987), The Dream (Kkum) (1990), Stairways of Heaven(Cheongug-ui gyedan) (1992), The Young man(Jeolm-eun namja) (1995), and Love Story (Leobeuseutoli) (1996). He has an affinity for long takes and is recognized for the lyrical melodramatic beauty of his films. He is considered to be part of the Korean New Wave of the 1980s.