The Show Must Go On (Wooahan Segye)
(2007, South Korea, 110 min)
Written and directed by Han Jae-rim
Starring Song Kang-ho, Park Ji-young, Oh Dal-su, Yoon
Jae-moon, and Choi Il-hwa
Trailer: YouTube |  Stills: Cine21

On a side note, I recently read a blog arguing that the general popularity of gangster movies and lack of films dealing with plots involving individual criminals highlights the general societal differences between the West and Asia - the individual vs. the collective. I can see some truth to this, but besides the reason I mentioned above, I'd stretch a guess to say that there are certain parallels with the overall heriarchical structure of Korean society and organized crime (the whole hyung / respect your elders thing), which thereby causes a natural affinity to Koreans.

Anyway, while The Show Must Go On is cut out of the gangster genre mold, there is no damsel in distress. Nor are there one-on-thirty brawls where a guy kicks ass with just a roll of quarters in his fist. Actually, it's quite the opposite. While he doesn't cut out all of the violence, second-time director Han Jae Rim ditches the baseball bats (but don't worry, there's still plenty of beating with other objects) in favor of the more painfully human and melancholy drama and monotony that exists in the everyman's struggles with daily life. And even when he depicts violence, he opts for a raw, matter-of-fact approach, without the tension-building drama leading up the spectacle. It's a bit voyeuristic in that sense--but I will get to that later.

Our story follows Ingu (Song Kang-ho, who gives an incredible subtle performance), who despite being a mid-tier gangster, suffers from the same problems the average ordinary middle-aged man seemingly suffers, in trying to balance his career and his family. He's good at his job, but lately, doubts have crept in on whether his aging body can stomach the day-to-day pounding (literally). But he trudges on, partially because of his loyalty to his boss, but mostly because he's hell bent on providing money to support his family, which includes a son who is studying overseas. However, his wife Mi-ryung (Park Ji-young, who perfectly plays the nagging pissed-off wife), and daughter are becoming increasingly upset with not only Ingu's line of work, but also his antics at home. On top of that, work is complicated by the incompetant younger brother of the boss who is jealous of the boss's favoritsm of Ingu. If you have seen the Road To Perdition, picture Song Kang-ho in Tom Hanks' role, and you will know what I am getting at.

But don't expect Han, who won Best New Director for his debut, Rules of Dating at the previous year's Grand Bell Awards, and regarded as one of the more exciting directors in Korea now, to go the obvious path with a plot about gang politics. Instead, he takes a thematic approach more similar to The Sopranos than Donnie Brasco. The real drama comes between the pull and tug of Ingu's obligations between both of his "families". In trying to please everyone, he alienates himself from both as his daily battles at home and work push him farther from reconcilating his loyalty to both his family and gang boss.

Han fully knows just how played out the gangster genre is in Korea. So instead his approach is to deconstruct the genre by taking a more raw approach that in turn reinforces Ingu's commonness. In the opening scene, rather than fast-forwarding to the supermarket where Ingu's men are beating a signature out of a construction project manager, Han draws out Ingu's journey to get there--he is seen falling asleep at a traffic light, checking on a scratch in his car, stepping on a loose tomato. Han uses the genre as merely a backdrop to tell story about a family man who just wants what's best for his family. And where Han really triumphs is the many instances where he uses the genre as a device for humor, sometimes fufilling typically expected gangster behavior with something you might expect from The Simpsons. Han reinforces this by choosing to shoot most of the film in handheld, adding a voyeuristic quality to our perceptions of gangsters, de-glamorizing them in the process. The additon of fast-paced Scorcese-like jump cuts brings even more attention to the presence of the camera.

Ingu's struggle to provide for his family mirrors a very popular topic in Korea now, about the very real struggle of present-day men in Korea in their quest for the societal view of success and happiness. The increased competitiveness of a higher social status and more financial success among men in Korea, who sometimes even become separated from their "goose families" they work so hard for, is quite possibly what Han is getting at. The irony of the sitation is reflected in a more literal translation of the Korean language title, (which to my understanding is translated as "Elegant World" or "Ideal World" but something along the lines of classy) and in the comic tone of the film, which contrasts with the gradual tragic descent of Ingu's entrapment. And in this sense, The Show Must Go On is a standout among the sea of cliche-driven gangster films in Korea, and truly shines by opting for the use of subtlety as well as pop-culture fanatism as a way too tell the story in a more unconventional way.

—ubn