Like Anna Karina's Sweater

Sympathy for Mr. Jealousy

When Filmbrain first saw Park Chan-ok's Jealousy is My Middle Name a few years back, it didn't leave that great an impression. What a difference a few years makes -- watching it again this past week, he realized what an absolutely perfect (and important) film it is. Director Park Chan-ok began her career working for Hong Sang-soo, and was assistant director on the magnificent Virgin Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors. An interesting bit of information, because Jealousy is My Middle Name can almost be considered a feminist take on that story. (Is it merely coincidence that both films feature Mun Seong-kun in a similar role?) Like Virgin Stripped..., Park's film finds two men interested in the same woman, though in this instance it isn't virginal innocence but rather a strong, savvy, independent photographer (Bae Chong-ok) that is the object of their desire. Yet whereas Hong's film is centered around the efforts of the competing men (including a shifting narrative perspective), Park uses the setup as a means of exploring the often twisted inner workings of her two male characters. As the film opens, Won-sang (Park Hae-il) has just been dumped by his girlfriend. She has been having an affair with Yun-shik (Mun Seong-kun) an older, married man who is the editor of a literary magazine. Won-sang manages to land a job at the magazine, where he finds himself simultaneously repulsed and fascinated by his rival. And though Yun-shik quickly seduces the new photographer that Won-sang is interested in, he is still drawn towards this man, and the two forge a tight, almost father-son relationship. Park doesn't pull any punches with her characterizations, though they are never exaggerated to the point of caricature. Yun-shik is a horrible person -- an arrogant, unfaithful, bitter man who seduces women as replacement for his own failed writing career. This trait is found in several of Hong Sang-soo's characters as well, but unlike them, Yun-shik openly admits that his affairs are all he has left. He takes full advantage of Won-sang's idolization of him, even after learning that it was his ex-girlfriend he stole. And though he genuinely likes the young man, he still gets a charge out of having Won-sang at his feet.

What Park handles so wonderfully in the film's two-plus hours is the change that Won-sang goes through. When we first meet him, he's a kind, quiet, meticulous guy who spends his nights diligently working on his dissertation. He avoids the obvious flirtations of Hye-ok, his landlord's daughter -- a young, attractive woman who runs a yarn store, though he is always coming to her aid when she has difficulty with her mentally ill father. The amount of time Won-sang spends with Yun-shik (a man who has now seduced two women that he was interested in) has a detrimental effect on him, culminating in some reprehensible behavior towards Hye-ok. Yun-shik, who began as Won-sang's nemesis, has now become his master. There's no question that Park's outlook is cynical. Nice guys finish last, so why not embrace the opposite. Won-sang marvels at how easy things come to Yun-shik -- why then should he work hard and be a nice guy if the rewards are greater for being a bastard? The question remains -- does Park see this as indicative of typical male behavior (in Korea, at least)? It appears so, as the film comes off more as a bit of social criticism than a simple straightforward narrative. The women in her film don't fare much better -- the two unmarried women are hardly content with their situations, and both have an unfounded reason why they are unlikely to find husbands. Yun-shik's wife (who isn't even given a name) is little more than a servant, and she must quietly accept her husband's infidelity (which he does little to hide.) If there is hope for male-female relationships, it lies in the younger generations, as evinced by the film's final, disturbing sequence, which finds a perceptive young girl who is already able to see through the "new" Won-sang. Jealousy is My Middle Name is easily the most sublime Korean film by a female director that Filmbrain has come across. There's not a superfluous scene or line of dialog to be found, and the three leads truly bring Park's rich characters to life. It's a remarkable a debut as Hong's The Day a Pig Fell Into a Well, and here's hoping that we see more from her in the near future.

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 6, Week 4

Here's an idea for a fun (but rather useless) list -- films that include scenes of people watching another film. Barry Levinson has done it, as have Theo Angelopoulos and Buster Keaton (who might have been the first to do so). Yet it was a wonderful sequence shot in Radio City Music Hall that was the source of last week's quiz -- Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur. The film is part of the recently released Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection, which is absolute treasure (and a damn fine birthday gift -- thanks Aaron!) This week's screen capture comes from a prophetic film -- one that is perhaps even more relevant today that it was when it was first released. Name it. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!