Hong Da-ye majored in film studies in college. She has shot documentary short “Each Vegetarian” (2018) and short films “Shutter”(2020) and “Kill This Love” (2021). “Invisible” is her fourth film, which received the Ulsan International Film Festival Production Fund.
Invisible screened at Busan International Short Film Festival
The movie begins with a POV sequence through the windshield of a car, which is soon revealed to carry a couple. The man starts talking about Maxim, a foreign worker whom he has granted a room in the motel he runs in the countryside. Jae-hee, the woman is pregnant and is not exactly at her best, with her situation becoming even worse after an episode with a client she experiences while working reception. Maxim comes to her rescue, but his behavior is somewhat condescending and Jae-hee starts feeling a sense of uneasiness around him. The tension soon finds itself in her relationship with her husband, as he makes her feel that him and Maxim want her out of her way.
An issue with the blankets and Jae-hee's suggestions for changes bring even more tension, while the appearance of a neighbor adds even more. On the other hand, it also highlights how Maxim helps the locals any way he can without asking for any pay. A bit later, the tension mounts even more, as the locals, who already did not like the newcomers in their area, are angry for their potential switching of the motel to an unmanned one. Their reaction leads the man to reconsider his plan, causing friction with his wife, as he sees himself being placed in the midst of all of them. Inevitably things come to a clash.
Check also this video
Hong Da-ye shoots a film that thrives on its atmosphere, with her creating a sense of mystery underscored by the notion that something sinister will eventually happen. The voyeuristic shots of DP Kim Jeong-eun add much to this sense, as does the tension that permeates the short, which actually becomes more palpable as time passes. The scene with the locals and its implications, but most of all, the very finale cement this approach, while adding a very appealing slight ambiguity about what is exactly happening. The whole approach is also heightened by the cuts of editor Yoon Sang-mi, with their suddenness adding to the aforementioned.
The comments presented through the story are equally interesting. The concept of the ‘meddling wife' and the way Jae-hee husband finds himself in the midst of it all is a comment about how couples frequently function. Maxim's presence makes a comment about how people perceive strangers, particularly in small societies, where gossip and meddling is the rule. The ending somewhat muddies this comment though, and the fact is that, context-wise, a more definite finale would help the film. That the wife wants to help and feels left out, even more so due to her pregnancy concludes the social comments here, in a series of interactions that echo quite realistic.
The acting is on a high level here. Park Se-jae highlights her multi-leveled discomfort quite convincingly, as does Gi-yoon as her husband, who eventually finds himself in a situation no one would ever want. Muhammad Amir Haiqal bin Azhar emits a sense of ambiguity as Maxim, suiting the approach the director wanted to implement to the fullest.
“Invisible”, despite an ending that could have been handled in better fashion, is a well-shot film that works particularly well as a thriller, additionally because it is grounded in realism.
