<Gagman (Gaegeumaen)> (1988)

Director : Lee Myeong-Se
Production Company : Tae Heung Films Co., Ltd
Date of Rate : 1988-10-13
Date of Theatrical Release : 1989-06-24
Running Time : 127 min.
Opening Theater : Dan Seong Sa Theater
Genre : Comedy

Staff :
Writer : Bae Chang-Ho, Lee Myeong-Se
Producer : Lee Tae-Won
Director of PhotoGraphy : Yoo Young-Kil
Gaffer : Cha Jeong-Nam
Music : Kim Su-Cheol
Art Director : Do Yong-Wu

Cast(Actor/Actress) :
Ahn Seong-Ki, Hwang Shin-Hye

Synopsis

Lee Jong-se (Ahn Sung-ki), a stand-up comedian at a third-rate cabaret, dreams of becoming a movie director. Mun Do-seok (Bae Chang-ho), who owns a barbershop on the outskirts of Seoul, has always fantasized about being an actor. Jong-se offers Do-seok a part in his directorial debut, and Do-seok sells his barbershop to tag along with Jong-se. One day at the movie theatre, Jong-se receives a kiss from a woman who happens to be sitting next to him. The woman, named Oh Seon-yeong (Hwang Shin-hye), is being chased by a group of gangsters. She follows Jong-se to his house, where they are joined by Do-seok, and the three of them bond together to make a movie. While rehearsing his act at the cabaret, Jong-se is handed a gun from a deserting soldier (Sohn Chang-min). When Seon-yeong finds out, she tries to convince him to rob a bank, saying that it takes money to produce a picture. The threesome attempts a bank robbery and end up on the police's wanted list. When an auto mechanic (Kim Se-jun) recognizes them, Do-seok kills him on the spur of the moment. Just as the police are about to catch up with them, Jong-se wakes up. Everything that happened thus far turns out to be a dream he had while dozing in a chair in Do-seok's barbershop.

Notes

"Gagman announces the long-overdue birth of self-examination and play in Korean cinema. In this respect, Lee Myeong-se's film is definitely a breath of fresh air." (Kim Jung-ryong)
Utterly ignored by audiences at the time of its release, Gagman has been rising in the public's estimation with each passing year. The general consensus is that it opened up new possibilities for Korean movies by adopting experimental techniques rarely to be seen in previous works. Opening with a fluid long-take shot that sweeps the interior of the barbershop, the movie freely plays with the conventions of Hollywood genre films as it interlocks fiction with reality and reality with fantasy like a Mobius Strip. Gagman clearly displays a movie fan's self-awareness in drawing on the iconic figure of Charlie Chaplin, albeit with a twist, in the characterization of its protagonist. It also enlists the lexicons of comedy and gangster films with a fairly free hand. Lee Myeong-se's film continually upsets the audience's conventional expectations and jumps into a different storyline. The initial premise of a comedian and a barber who come together to make a movie gives Gagman the appearance of a "movie about movies," but it is at this precise point that the film makes its leap to the gangster genre. The characters' desire to produce a film is realized, rather shockingly, as a bank robbery, and when their attempt at crime leads to murder, the story once again takes a leap. Just as the protagonists face imminent capture, all the accumulated suspense of the film dissipates in a single moment through the revelation that everything has been a mere dream. The only consistent factor in Gagman is its comic tone; in all other matters, the movie keeps its distance from traditional dramaturgy and freely roams among disparate elements to forge a unique tale that cannot be tied down by convention. This is why some critics faulted the film for being "unfamiliar" or "awkward," but it is also what eventually allowed it to be recognized for its true value.

Director Bio: Jang Seon-woo (1952- )

After graduating from the film department of the Seoul Institute of Arts, he worked as a production assistant to director Kim Soo-yong. After his discharge from the army in 1983, he worked as an assistant director to such directors as Hong Pa, Kim Jeong-il, and Bae Chang-ho until 1988. In 1989, he made his directorial debut with the film, Gagman (Gaegeumaen), which is considered one of the most unique films in Korean cinematic history. He used a wide variety of visual techniques and created a unique aesthetic style by incorporating even the most trivial of details - such as the props - as an essential part of his films. He is without doubt Korea's greatest cinematic stylist. His most important works include My Bride My Love (Na-ui salang na-ui sinbu) (1990), First Love (Cheossalang) (1993), Affliction of Man (Namjaneun goelo-wo) (1994), Relentless and Ruthless (Injeongsajeong Bol Geot Eopda) (1999), and Duelist (Hyeongsa) (2005).