The role of women in society continues to be undermined by men, especially a certain orange lunatic and his equally barbaric administration who have basically taken America hostage. However, it’s not just that women here are constantly challenged, it’s all over the world. Late filmmaker Kim Soo-young Splendid Outing takes the role of women in Korean society and adds a mostly nightmarish and oppressive tone into the mix.
Buy Splendid OutingGong Do-hee (Korean film legend Yoon Jeong-hee in a brilliant performance) is a woman who seems to have it all: a high-powered career as President of company in Seoul, a fancy home, a nice car, and two loving children. But there’s something missing in her life, just someone to relate to. She seemly had a twin sister who died during birth, who still haunts her in a series of dreams. For some strange reason (for which the film doesn’t spell out), she travels to the seaside where the dreams took place. Instead of having a splendid outing, she is kidnapped by a brutish fisherman Yong Dai-ho (Lee Dae-keun), who believes she is his long-lost wife.
Being trapped in this new existence, she is physically and mentally assaulted by not just Dai-ho, but also his relatives and others who live near the seaside. When the new housekeeper arrives, that’s when Do-hee is able to make her escape by boat. When she makes it back to Seoul, she finds that everyone has moved on. She no longer has the creature comforts nor the identity to complete her. Or doesn’t she?
When I write “Or doesn’t she?,” I am responding to the film’s final moments, which completely contradicts everything that happens before. I don’t know if I should reveal what happens (which I may have done so already), but let’s just say you’ll probably feel jilted to say to the least. Despite the unfortunate ending, I still found the film to be disturbing and honest about the plight of women who try to make it in a man’s world, no matter what region they’re in. It has some very prevalent ideas about the roles and expectations of Korean women, feminism, and beyond. It also features marvelous cinematography and incredibly stark music that makes it more unnerving than most horror films. Basically, it feels more darkly modern than it should. For those who like dark cinema, this should be a revelation for you.
The release by Radiance is another winner for a company that is a force in the world of physical media. They always take chances on releasing films that we probably would have never known about it hadn’t been for them. The picture and sound are amazing, and it contains some great special features including audio commentary by writer Ariel Schudson; interview with filmmaker Lee Chang-dong; interview with assistant director Chung Ji-young; and Stranded but Not Afraid: The Island Women of Classic Korean Cinema – a visual essay by critic Pierce Conran. There are also new essays by researcher Chonghwa Chung, Conran, and an excerpt from Soo-Yong’s “My Love, Cinema”.
