Holiday in Seoul (1997)

Directed by Ui-seok Kim

Starring Min-jong Kim, Hee-kyung Jin, Jin-shil Choi, Dong-Kun Jang

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that saying is true then Wong Kar Wai can consider himself well and truly flattered. If there was no Chungking Express there would be no Holiday in Seoul, certainly not as it is, the construction, editing, styling, photography, character narration, pacing, the whole shebang is a Korean version of Chungking Express.

That said, I found it to be a good film (once I could get over the similarities) the story revolves around two groups of two people, the first a bellboy who has an obsession with womens legs and falls for a leg model, problem is she has a boyfriend and a high flying career. The second half is centered around a taxi driver and a hotel phone operator, again he falls for her but she is already involved with a married man.

The biggest difference between Holiday in Seoul and Chungking Express is the overall feeling, Holiday in Seoul has an air of despair, inner city loneliness and sadness, you feel that the hotel phone operator in particular is in a severe state, clutching at straws and on the edge, another similarity with Chungking Express is the fact that she becomes an airline stewardess at the end of the film.

The acting is fine, the pacing is good (as it should be) and despite the obvious comparison its quite a decent film. 

The title is actually wrong, it should be Holiday Inn Seoul, this is where two of the characters are situated and where a large amount of the film is set.

Recommended, especially if you havent seen Chungking Express yet.

Cheers Trev.

No BBFC rating but probably 15.