Alice in Earnestland

성실한 나라의 앨리스

Film info

Director: Ahn Gooc-jin
Cast: Lee Jeong-hyun, Lee Hae-young, Seo Young-hwa
90 mins, 2014

A giddy concoction of social satire and surreal violence, wastes no time in grabbing the audience by the lapels. Leading lady Su-nam (Lee Jeong-hyun) bursts into a psychotherapist’s office and takes Gyeong-suk (Seo Young-hwa) prisoner. Once tied up, and force-fed a sliver of raw meat, Su-nam begins to recount to her captive audience how she came to be committing this criminal act. The backstory is a whirlwind, delivered breathlessly. The film has anger, railing against modern urban manifestations of the obnoxious. But do not worry, is far from a dour experience, a different tone is taken: the humour of frustration relieved through destructive happenstance. Debutant writer-director Ahn Gooc-jin delivers a mischievous anti-heroine comedy.

By Hemanth Kissoon