Truth be told, short movies are not exactly usually of the genre variety, with the duration of the format essentially forcing filmmakers to follow more art-house paths. Considering, however, that, among the cinema of Asian countries, Korea is the one “in charge” of genre cinema nowadays, it is no surprise that a director from the particular country decided to follow a genre path for his 27-minute short.
“Outsiders” is screening at Busan International Short Film Festival
After a rather impressive panoramic shot of an urban setting, we are introduced to the protagonist of “Outsiders”, an injured woman who is driving desperately while her phone is ringing. A number of flashbacks reveal that her injuries come from her interactions with a man, which is essentially what led her to crime, while the one calling turns out to be her boss, who is quite fed up with her taking his car. The tension mounts, and eventually the woman crashes the vehicle. To her help comes an older man, who is soon revealed to be not as benevolent as one would assume.
Apart from the genre base, the metaphor Lee Wan-hee implements here is quite palpable against patriarchy, as we watch a woman being tormented by three men, one after the other, all of which become violent and hurt her. Apart from context though, the movie thrives on its atmosphere, with Lee building the agony during the drive, until the appearance of the old man moves the short towards exploitation paths, that also add to the aforementioned comment, as the man's behavior essentially results from an attitude that has him thinking that every word the girl utters is disrespectful to his age and sex.
At the same time, and despite the fact that the movie takes mostly part in exterior locations, the stage play aesthetics are prevalent, particularly since the majority of the film has just two actors interacting. In that fashion, the acting here emerges as a crucial element, and it is easy to say that both do a rather convincing job, Kim Tae-geum as the victim and Moon Chang-gil as the old man who is proven an aggressor. The way the story unfolds adds to the tension and the agony, until a rather sudden appearance, which was teased though, through the infrared sequences, concludes it, in a way, however, that is quite hyperbolic in its conception.
On the other hand, this aspect, and the overall visuals, highlight the excellent job in the cinematography by Woo Gyu-heon and Jo Hyeon-il, with the scenes both in the car and outside of it being impressive on occasion, with the initial one and the sudden appearance providing the apogee here. The lighting could have been a bit better, since there are scenes that is difficult to realize what is happening, but this is just a small issue, which in no way hampers the overall quality of this particular aspect, while the special effects are definitely of quality, particularly considering the type of production. The editing is also on a very high level, with the cuts adding to the overall atmosphere, while the overall, relatively fast pace suits the general aesthetics nicely.
Lee Wan-hee may have gone a bit too far in his script, but in general, he seems to know how to construct a horror/thriller, both in terms of narrative and visuals, which makes “Outsiders” a rather hopeful debut.
