When Moon Young first debuted as a short film at the Seoul Independent Film Festival in 2015 at only 43 minutes long, it was met with mixed reviews, nothing quite out of the ordinary. It wasn't until more than a year later when the movie released in theatres in Korea, the runtime now 20 minutes longer. The reason? Newfound appreciation and recognition for lead actress Kim Tae-ri, who had just come out of the incredibly successful release of Park Chan-Wook's “The Handmaiden”.
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The film, directed by Kim-Yeon, is about the titular character “Moon Young”, played by Kim Tae-ri, a mute girl who spends most of her time filming people with her small camcorder. When one day she has had enough of her father's drunken tyranny, she flees their house, and runs into Hee-soo (played by Jung Hyun), who is going through her own troubles, as she has just broken up with her boyfriend. Moon Young is only 18, the lone wolf type, and prefers to watch life through her camcorder's lens, where Hee-soo is an older, late twenties, wildcard type of girl. The two women gravitate towards each other more than you'd expect from two wildly different people and become unlikely friends.
Kim-Yeon's directing throughout the film is inconsistent. At times the film is meandering, even if it was a little intriguing. It feels too long, and it is clear that 20 minutes were added on later, making the movie quite strangely paced. It'd be very interesting to see the original 43-minute cut as that runtime seems to be much more in place with what the story can possibly provide in its current format. Yet, the film is still entertaining. It leaves you wondering and guessing which direction the story is going to take, even if it seemed like in the end, it really didn't go to the places that you'd want it to. Especially with such a talented cast.
Which brings us to the main reason this movie got a theatrical release in 2017, lead actress Kim Tae-ri, and her moving depiction of Moon Young. The amount of raw emotion the actress is capable of is impressive, to say the least. She's expressive, subtle, and incredibly engaging. It saves the film from being unmemorable, and it adds depth and interest to the character of Moon Young. Jung Hyun's depiction of Hee-soo is less memorable, but far from disappointing. She's an interesting character that creates intrigue, if not a little chaos into the film.
Moon Young is an independent film with a low budget, but this works quite well for the movie. The camerawork is intimate, and it often feels like you're there with them. Pacing aside, the editing is well done all together, however, nothing too remarkable. Kim So-yeon's debut film is slightly disappointing and the increase in runtime might have been jumping the gun, the subject matter a little too ambitious. A 64-minute film about a mute girl is hard, especially if your original cut was meant to be 43 minutes. However, there is promise for Kim So-yeon yet, getting the most out of the two leads, and creating intrigue throughout the whole film. With less difficult subject matter and a full-length runtime, Kim So-yeon could genuinely surprise us in the future.
