The film I'm In Trouble! presents an aspect of comical irony by sketching out the embarrassing moments of a man who has the formal title ‘poet' but in reality is jobless with no regular profession. “A love story that began from imagining a situation where a man kneels before a woman, trying to make excuses that make no sense just to hold on to her” evolved and elaborated into “a story of a nerdy, seemingly feeble man.”
Seon-u consoles himself saying he is free from all obligations and duties the world demands, getting by on his pride in being an artist, but to others he is just another bum easily looked down upon. He has a girlfriend, Yun-a, but as he avoids meeting with her father to get their marriage approved, their relationship is on the verge of breaking up. All the while, his best friend Seung-gyu cares after this fatigued and incapable young man, and is passionately in love with Sun-ae. Sun-ae, however, shows no interest in Seung-gyu and becomes helplessly attracted to Seon-u when Seunggyu introduces him to her. The story, tracing this tangle of relationships in turmoil, circles in an endless cycle. Seon-u is a man stripped of confidence or responsibility in his life, but as if he is a male full of masculine energy he is constantly surrounded by women.
Director SO Sang-min has had a continuous dream to make movies since his high school years, and has continued to walk down the road of movies since he experienced a flash-like inspiration “when [he] saw The Power of Kangwon Province in [his] college sophomore year and realized movies can be made like this too.” The short films he made at the Korean Academy of Film Arts, which he entered only after trying three times, were mostly love stories too. It's supposedly because “there were many memories in my mind, not because I was good in relationships,” but he also has faith in the statement “the feeling of love is an essential problem to all.” It is often said the director and his work should not be regarded as the same, but in I'm In Trouble! it is difficult not to get the impression that the director's characteristics are very much reflected in the individuals appearing in the film. Director SO confesses, “parts of me are shown through Seon-u and behaviors I've observed from those around me and stories I've read in books were mixed in.”
In I'm In Trouble!, people who can't decide which direction their life should go, but still try to continue their miserable desires, fail to mingle with others and move on. Director SO Sang-min believes “people don't change easily once they are over 20.” Sure enough, this shameless man has a wonderful talent in placing those around him instead of himself in trouble. Overly self-absorbed, Seon-u is dull and sends out a gloomy aura that feels like things can be spoiled any moment. He walks around naked and drunk at a rest house, deceives his long time girlfriend, has sex with the woman his friend loves – the friend who kindly looked after him all along, and goes to a happy gathering of his schoolmates and turns it into a mess. This man, on a continuous project of self-degradation that is not laudable at all, has no energy to fulfill his desires, to wait for the desires to come true, nor does he have any initiative or delight in resolving the agonies of life.
The points of interest are very clear, provided by a self-searching comedy of such a sort that it circles around the emotions of love affairs. The detailed description revealing the overall life and features of the characters from the story in a simple and powerful way is quite profound. On the other hand, sharp remorse and a record of the reflections that are expected in a retrospective young adult film are nowhere to be found, because this movie's story is not based on the development of life reached through past sufferings. This wild, harsh adventure comes to an end whenour petty hero makes a heroic escape. The closing scene that overturns the hitherto tone of the story is as abrupt as a scene from a superhero movie inserted into a boring daily drama.
I'm in Trouble!
It is not difficult to catch shadows of HONG Sang-soo from this ragged sketch of everyday life drawn by powerless people. The film is a weary tale of an idle artist with things not quite working out for him, lost in his love problems but returning to his place in the end. Instead of the compulsive construction of storytelling that is essential in HONG Sang-soo's works, literary style dialogue that stick with the actors, and hidden humor gather attention in SO Sangmin's film.
The attitude of the observer that intends to politely approach the object with subjectivity eliminated can be found in several places. For movies like this it is more important to see whether the distance between the director and characters in the story is kept even, whether the emotional expression of the individual is reserved, and whether such distancing is being elevated into a true recognition of the world we live in. SO presents a relatively well organized answer to such questions. He avoids exaggeration if he can, excluding the selfabsorption that may lead to the assimilation of any careless emotions. By revealing such a dissociation of the self-deceiving attitude of snobbish intellectuals and our consciousness that gazes on it, he provides an opportunity for reflection.
For persistent observation, the camera patiently stays in one spot without breaking off the flow of the situation occurring within the space. The camera stands at a distance where the actors' words are best heard, their actions best seen, calmly watching everything or naturally following after them. Thus the actors' everyday actions vividly come to life. All the actors have developed their skills first in theater. JUNG Ji-yeon, who plays Seon-u's lover Yun-a, is an amateur actor who majored in directing at Korea National University of Arts, and has directed fine short films like Blooming in Spring. SO Sang-min who “took the longest takes possible so that it won't interfere with the rhythm of the acting” had an earful of complaints from all the actors in the scenes, but as a result was able to draw out the best acting ever from them.
Although it is too early to predict the future with just one film, SO Sang-min is a rookie on a quest towards the undiscovered frontiers of Korean cinema. His debut film shows no hasty optimism towards human life nor a pessimism without answers, but fills the frame with lots of energy and tension. It is not easy to concentrate at first, but once the point is reached the film powerfully and quickly draws in viewers. The sense of comically capturing the misery prevalent in our lives reminds us of sharp satire by Woody ALLEN rather than that of HONG Sang-soo. The brilliant description of life and creation of a story with it as basic material are its extraordinary cinematic outcomes. Descriptions as real as this on the emptiness of the universe and fatigue of relationships are not common, and his talent at recreating the mediocre events of everyday with a microscopic eye makes the future of this young director bright. This talent waiting to bloom was recognized by various sources, and this movie, produced as part of the Korean Academy of Film Arts Production Research Program received the New Currents Award this year at PIFF, given to up-and-coming directors, and was also invited to the Forum section of the Berlin International Film Festival.