About This Film
Featuring the Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung in one of the protagonist roles and one of the most important Korean filmmakers of all time in the face of Kim Ki-young, “The Insect Woman” is a truly masterful film, which even manages to move towards an exploitation path, apart from the melodramatic/family drama one. A title that works on a number of levels, both contextually and cinematically and one of those rare case when a movie can be both a masterpiece and cult.
Synopsis
After a rather intense introduction featuring a psychologically disturbed man checking himself in a mental hospital, we are introduced to Myeong-ja (Youn Yuh-jung), a schoolgirl whose life is in shambles after her father's death. Her mother, unable to make ends meet for the family, forces her to get work in a hostess bar, in order to help pay for her brother's tuition to college. The inexperienced girl falls in the hands of a cunning madam, who knows exactly how to control Myeong-ja and make her do exactly what she wants. At the bar she is introduced to Mr. Kim (Namkoong Won), a man who is suffering from impotence and a domineering wife, and their first meeting manages to wake up the man's sleeping libido. Furthermore, a bit later, Myeong-ja, realizing that this would be her fate from now on, instead prompts to become Mr. Kim's mistress, despite the fact that he already has a wife and two kids. After a rather intense clash with his wife, Oh Soon-jo (Jeon Gye‑hyeon), the latter agrees to allow the affair, although under a number of rules that include a curfew for him to get back home, control of his weight, the number of times the two of them have sex and a plethora of other factors. Surprisingly, everyone involved agree to the deal, despite the protests of Mr. Kim's offspring, Kim Jo-mi and Kim Hoon. However, when the two lovers start discussing about having a baby, things take a rather sinister turn.
