[HanCinema's Film Review] "The Lost Choices"

In the last few years, the concept of the female vigilante has become a prevalent one, with movies from Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia etc presenting mostly action/exploitation films where women take revenge for the wrongdoings of men. Back in 2015, however, Ahn Yong-hoon, in his directorial debut, came up with a film that does have such a protagonist, but essentially moves more towards arthouse/social commentary paths, than any kind of mainstream or cult ones.

Advertisement

Ji-eun, as a teenager, won a marksmanship championship, and had a bright future ahead of her, to the contrary of her best friend, Won-kyeong, who was abused by her alcoholic father and has fallen in with a group of delinquents. However, a tragic accident involving both girls, resulted in the former's parents getting killed and her left with a speech impediment. Years later, the two find themselves working menial jobs in a factory, with Won-kyeong repeatedly being abused by her boyfriend, and Ji-eun essentially having no prospect in life, not to mention that both have to fend off the advances of their sleazy boss. Hope eventually shines for Ji-eun, when she attends a successful interview for a designer's job, but tragedy soon follows once more, as she is gang raped in an alley in her way back. Her effort to report the crime to the police is met by shocking indifference from a corrupt policeman, while soon after, she finds herself face to face with one of her attackers, in a series of events that eventually turn her into a vigilante. Meanwhile, female police officer Kang Ja-gyeom, tries to help but also finds herself against patriarchy.

Ahn Yong-hoon directs a movie that is essentially split in two parts, with the first killing providing the dichotomy. In that fashion, up until that point, the movie unfolds like a social drama, with Ahn highlighting the difficulties women face in Korean society, and even more those with some kind of mental issues. Ji-eun is essentially beaten, both literally and metaphorically, by everyone around her, including her direct higher up, her boss, Won-kyeong's boyfriend, and even her best friend herself, although in psychological terms. The fact that she has never realized what has happened in the initial accident has taken a toll on both girls, although on completely different terms, adding even more to the dead-end of their lives. While Ji-eun still tries to fight her fate in some ways, Won-kyeong seems to have succumbed completely, both to her boyfriend's treatment and the way she has to "work" her boss in order to become a permanent employee. The true shock, however, comes by Ji-eun's treatment by the police, which highlights the issues women face in a way that is actually legal, and not only social or mental.

This approach is what justifies Ji-eun's transformation in the second part of the movie, which becomes a psychological/action thriller. This change from a victim to a vigilante is excellently handled by both director and Shin Hyun-been, who is quite convincing in both her personas, in probably the best aspect of the whole movie. Despite her taking things in her hands (again, both literally and metaphorically) Ahn actually never stops portraying her as a victim, in an approach that begins as realistic, but eventually falls into melodramatic terms, with the ending in particular, as much as the way the initial accident happened, looking quite far-fetched. The same applies to the character of Ja-gyeom, whose presence, though, adds much to the general comment about women, in another great performance here, this time by Yoon So-yi.

Despite the aforementioned hiccups in the narrative, the combination of social drama and action thriller works rather well for the film, with the editing that results in a pace that is fittingly fast for a drama and slow for an action, helping the most in that regard. Lee Bong-joo's cinematography is also on a very high level, with him creating a dark and gritty world, where the light almost never shines, in perfect resonance with the overall context of the movie.

"The Lost Choices" has some issues regarding its script, particularly regarding its melodramatic moments, but as a whole, works excellently in its mixture of social drama and vigilante thriller, in a rather unique approach to both genres.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

___________

"The Lost Choices" is directed by Ahn Yong-hoon, and features Yoon So-yi, Shin Hyun-been, Cha Ji-hun, Kim Hyuk-III, Ahn Se-ha, Lee Woo-jin-II. Release date in Korea: 2015/10/29.