Review: Eunhee Cho's
"Inner Circle Line"
by Christopher
Bourne
"A love story
for losers," is how the film's producer Alan Chan described this
impressive film in his opening remarks at the New York Asian American
International Film Festival. And indeed, Cho's debut film beautifully
captures the complications of love, and the intertwined pain and joy the
eternal search for love and connection entails.
The film takes its
title from the name for the circular subway line in Seoul, and it becomes
a potent metaphor for the lives of its characters. "Inner Circle
Line" tells the parallel stories of a man and a woman who both share
the same name, Youngju. The female Youngju is a nightclub DJ; the male
Youngju is a train operator on the Inner Circle Line. They both lead their
own respective lonely, restricted existences: the DJ spins records with
almost identical thudding techno beats and the train operator spends his
nights driving in a circle. Even though they each have close relationships
with others, their painful pasts prevent them from experiencing true happiness.
There exists an essential link between these two namesakes that I won't
reveal, since one the joys of this film is in discovering the intricate
connections between these characters, and the personal histories that
have shaped them.
Cho's meticulous
script is wonderfully attuned to the nuances of the relationships she
presents, and brilliantly captures the loneliness of big cities. Shot
on digital video, "Inner Circle Line"'s richly textured visuals
serve as effective analogue to her story and characters. Although the
film's style is elliptical and contains elements that echo Hou Hsiao-hsien
and Tsai Ming-liang, it is nevertheless very accessible. Cho's film proves
that beyond the blockbuster hits and crowd pleasers, there exists in Korea
a vital independent scene, of which "Inner Circle Line" is a
prime example.
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