Interview (2000) Dogme # 7 - Interview

Directed by Hyuk Byun

Starring Shim Eun-ha (Christmas in August), Lee Jung-Jae (Il Mare)

This film is a simple tale but is told in a disjointed fractured manner, this method is entirely suitable and draws you in giving the feeling that you are involved. 

A director (Lee Jung-Jae) is filming interviews with a lot of different people discussing their first love. While filming he becomes entranced with one of the interviewees, just a normal girl who works in a beauty parlour but there is something quite enigmatic about her.

The girl (Shim Eun-ha) captivates his attention as she tells him about her job, her life and the love of her life who is in the army. The fragmentation occurs as we find out that a lot of what the girl is telling him is not quite the truth, slowly the pain and heartache of her past are revealed in a way that makes us, the audience not merely witnesses or voyeurs but participants in the story.

Shim Eun-has character is an enigma, we know as much about the truth of her story as the director does, given little snatches until the final denouement. This is clever film making which gives the impression at first of being nothing more than a bit of arty experimentation, get past that and you have a story that cant fail to draw you in and make you empathise with the central characters.

Shim Eun-ha is captivating and proves what a good actress she is, unfortunately this appears to be the last film shes worked on, unless anyone knows different!

Highly recommended as an alternative form of romantic drama.

Cheers Trev.

No BBFC rating but probably 12.

Region 3 ntsc dvd available from several retailers.