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March of Fools (The) AKA Babodeuli haengjin
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - South Korea - Korean Film Archive/Blue Kino Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (11th September 2015). |
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The Film
 "The March of Fools" (1975) In a group of young men getting physical examinations for military entrance, including 2 best friends Byung-tae (played by Yoon Moon-seob) and Young-cheol (played by Ha Jae-young), who are university students. Young-cheol fails, but Byung-tae passes, solidifying their separation post-university. The two are students studying philosophy, though neither are quite so serious about studying and are more about having fun, chasing girls, and getting into minor trouble. When the male philosophy students and the female French department students decide to have a group blind date, Young-cheol and Byung-tae get excited about the prospect of meeting girls, although they are late to the number drawing,and are given the remaining 2 numbers: 4 and 13, with “4” meaning “death” in Korean, and 13 being an unlucky number. But boys will be boys, so they wash up, put on nice suits and set out to the date spot at a café. Unfortunately with their slightly long hair, the police try to stop them which leads to a "Keystone Cops"-type chase through the streets. A slight altercation, the guys arrive at the café a little late. Young-cheol meets his date Soon-ja (played by Kim Young-sook), though Byung-tae’s date Young-ja (played by Lee Young-ok) is not interested in sticking around at the café, so they leave together and take the subway. The two couples start their relationships together, but not everything is sweet and cute. Young-jae makes Byung-tae write a report for her on Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”, does not give him anything in return, using him for her own benefit. Soon-ja leaves Young-cheol drunk at a bar which then he gets arrested for being out past curfew. Where will the girls lead the direction-less boys and what will become of them? Directed by Ha Gil-jong, “The March of Fools” was a film which was quite different from other Korean films of the time. Korean films were popular with melodramas, war movies, and love stories, but here was a story about college kids doing…, well nothing in particular. There was not necessarily a plot, a story, a climactic emotional arc, but it was kids being kids in 1975. International films like “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955) in the United States, “Crazed Fruit” (1956) in Japan, “Cemetery Junction” (2010) in the United Kingdom, or “Y Tu Mama Tambien” (2001) in Mexico to name a few, showed young people being themselves. Sexual desires, the differences between the minds of boys and girls, love and hate, and a sense of rebellion. But rebellion from what? Whether it was from parents, society, school, or a mishmash of all of the above, the films mentioned above had “rebellion” as a backdrop to the main story of the lives of the protagonists. The characters of Byung-tae and Young-cheol are both philosophy students: studying about ideals but not having a sense of direction themselves. Young-cheol often says he does have a goal in life and that is to catch a whale, which seems quite absurd considering there are no whales around the Korean peninsula. But is the whale a metaphor for something he wants but knows is impossible to get? Is it his Moby Dick? Or is it just an excuse and a joke that he lives by? Byung-tae is reminiscent of Renton from “Trainspotting” (1996) or Michel from Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” (1960), being without a set direction or purpose, although he seems to be fine with the knowledge of his military entrance passing, giving at least a sense of security for the near future. The combination of the two does not move the story forward, but it is the female characters of Young-jae and Soon-ja that do. The girls are both using the boys, wrapping them around their fingers as toys. Whether it is for the boys’ money or getting them to do homework for the girls, they seem to know what they are doing, but it is not always with bitchy happiness. The scene of Young-ja looking in the mirror sadly after a stage performance showing her unsatisfactory side to her personal desire, for example. Another fascinating choice by director Ha was the casting of the college students in the film: For all of them, it was their first film. Even in the credits of the film, the actors’ names are credited with the school they were attending. There were some professionals for cameo parts. The Doctor was played by Ha Myung-joong (the director’s younger brother), who starred in “The Marines Who Never Returned” (1963), “Genealogy” (1978), and “The Last Witness” (1980). The Private was played by Kim Hee-ra, who appeared in “The Old Potter” (1969), “Jagko” (1980) and “Poetry” (2010). Another great young cameo is the newsboy played by Lee Seung-hyun. Although much younger than the main actors, he already had quite a few film credits as a child actor since he debuted in 1967. His film credits include “Yalkae, A Joker in High School” (1977), “Byung-tae and Young-ja”, the 1979 sequel to “The March of Fools” which was also directed by Ha, and the 1980 sequel “Byung-tae and Young-Ja”, the third film in the series. South Korean cinema in the 1970’s was really the least exciting time for cinema. Like other countries, television took the market share for entertainment, which led to closures of many theaters and film companies. Budgets were also affected, with only quick cheapies being produced without artistic credit. Another reason for artistic works being limited was the government censorship of works. During the rule of President Park Chung-hee, who approved of the new Yushin Constitution which gave him greater power to rule under a military dictatorship and pushed a conservative view. Student demonstrations were common, with hundreds of arrests, which led to not only students but with laborers, religious leaders, and even opposing political leaders calling for the abolishment of the rewritten constitution. It would eventually be abolished following Park’s assassination in 1979, leading to a more liberal environment. Director Ha Gil-jong and writer Choi In-ho were both about one generation older than the students portrayed in “The March of Fools”, in which both of them were young students during the May 16th Coup (of 1961). Protests, demonstrations, and an uncertainty of the future were in their minds as students, but at the same time so was sex, drinking, and wanting to have fun. Ha Gil-jong studied film in the United States at UCLA and was influenced heavily by the New American Cinema with films like “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) and “Easy Rider” (1969) which went against conformity and tradition. After 7 years abroad, Ha made his first feature as director in South Korea in 1972 with “The Pollen of the Flower” which was controversial for its depiction of the government, its homosexual undertones, and plagiarism of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1968 film “Teorema”, although Ha called it an homage. His 1973 film “Fidelity” also came with problems for its indirect criticism of the Korean government. Although he wrote many screenplays during the years, almost all were rejected by studios fearing government censorship. His third film “The March of Fools”, based on the book by Choi In-ho would also challenge the censors quite a lot. The screenplay itself went through censorship problems with the board requesting removal of scenes and dialogue. The completed film had an official runtime of 117 minutes, but the board requested more cuts to be made. Eventually with footage removed, lines of dialogue replaced and/or deleted, and alternate shots reinstated, the film’s new runtime was a short 102 minutes, which is much shorter and much different from director Ha’s original vision. And to make it worse, after the screenings started in May 1975, a further 2.5 minutes were cut due to complaints, with the new theatrical prints being a scant 99 minutes. One scene that was particularly interestingly changed was the student demonstration scene. Originally, university classes were cancelled due to student demonstrations. In the finished film, the any mention of the demonstration was deleted and during the scenes of the students yelling in the streets, the audio was kept but replaced by images of baseball, tennis, and other sporting events, making it look like the classes were cancelled due to sporting events. But regardless of the censorship cuts, “The March of Fools” was a huge success in South Korea, becoming the second most popular film of 1975. Audiences were captivated by the carefree attitude of the characters and to be able to see South Korean youth depicted as leads for the first time in a modern world. Sure, it did not have the political backdrop that was originally intended but it put director Ha on the map. It made such an impact on society that the names “Byung-tae” and “Young-ja” became quite negative names for young people, even in the following years. Ha Gil-jong directed a follow-up film, titled “Byung-tae and Young-ja”, which of the main characters, only Lee Young-ok reprised her role as Young-ja from “March of Fools”. It was released in February of 1979, but unfortunately less than a month after its release, Ha Gil-jong had a stroke and passed away 5 days later at the young age of 37. Although he completed only 7 features in his lifetime, Ha is still considered one of the best and most important directors in South Korean cinema history, and his reputation grows. In a list of the top films in Korean cinema compiled by The Korean Film Archive, three films tied for the top spot: “The Housemaid” (1960), “Aimless Bullet” (1960), and “The March of Fools” (1975). Interesting that a film without much of a plot would occupy the shared number 1 spot, but more important is what the film represents and the influence it had on South Korean pop culture. Note: This is a region ALL Blu-ray disc, playable in any Blu-ray disc player worldwide.
Video
With many Korean film studios gone bankrupt, films were abandoned and forgotten over time, which is a terrible shame that much of Korea film history is lost. The Korean Film Archive was established in 1976 to save the legacy of Korean cinema. The original 117 minute cut of “The March of Fools” prior to the censorship board’s tampering has been lost. The original negative of the 102 minute initial theatrical version of the film, which includes the 2.5 minutes of subsequently censored portions has been preserved at the Korean Film Archive. Presented in 1080p, the original 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio in the AVC MPEG-4 codec and transferred from the original negative, the film looks very good, but it is not perfect. Colors are a little flat and slightly faded, but overall the film looks consistent without color fluctuations. Film damage is very minimal with the only portions with very visible damage being the processed slow motion shots and some end reel points. Korean Film Archive’s second Blu-ray release is excellent in the video department.
Audio
The soundtrack is in Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 dual mono. As with most Korean films of the era and before, the soundtrack was rerecorded in post-production, which has its issues. Fidelity is limited in the mono track and the music tracks such as the song by Song Chang-sik “Why are you calling me?” are a bit flat, but in keeping with the original elements. There are no hisses or crackling sounds in the soundtrack, and dialogue is quite easy to hear. No faults, really. Optional English, French, Japanese, and Korean subtitles are provided for the main feature. The white subtitles are excellent in translation with no grammar or spelling problems that I could find.
Extras
There are 2 audio commentaries for the feature: Audio commentary by film critic Chung Sung-ill Like listening to a lecture, this well prepared commentary by Chung Sung-ill features information about the director and about the film. He also discussed the political state of South Korea at the time, the impact of New American Cinema on Ha’s work, and the censorship issues. In Korean with optional English and Korean subtitles Audio commentary by film critic Darcy Paquet Founder of www.koreanfilm.org, American born Seoul based Paquet gives an English language commentary, the first for a Korean Film Archive release. He gives a non-Korean perspective, pointing out some things such as the number “4” having an unlucky connotation in Korea, about the state of Korean cinema at its low point in the 1970’s and more. Although not as deep or prepared as the Chung Sung-ill commentary, it is still very interesting and informative. In English with optional English and Korean subtitles The Sequence of "As Days Go By" From the Original Negative (3:20) (1080p) One scene that had problems in the original negative was the “As Days Go By” montage sequence, in which some frames were missing. Presented here is the sequence presented from the original negative in which the frame goes black for a few short periods. The picture has not been color corrected and the time counter is present, so viewers can see how much the film was restored before and after. But unlike many other Korean Film Archive Before/After featurettes, this one does not have a comparison portion. In 2.35:1, In Korean with no subtitles Censored Clips (2:27) (1080p) The 2 and a half minutes of footage that was snipped from the theatrical prints after minor complaints are presented here, from the original negative where it was never removed. The footage here is also not color corrected or remastered. There is no difference in content between these clips and what is featured in the film except for the remastering quality. In 2.35:1, In Korean with no subtitles Image Gallery is divided into 4 parts: - Stills (1:40) (1080p) A series of black and white still photos and two color theatrical posters are presented in slideshow form. The fast forward button can be pressed for manual advancement. - Documents on the Censorship (6:50) (1080p) Notes are presented handwritten and typed in Korean on the censorship of the film. The fast forward button can be pressed for manual advancement. In Korean - Censored Screenplay (11:10) (1080p) The typed Korean screenplay with handwritten memos on changes and censorship is presented. The fast forward button can be pressed for manual advancement. In Korean 42-page book As with all Korean Film Archive sets, the informative booklet is half in Korean and half in English with film information, director biographies, photos and essays. Included in the booklet are a production & release history, film information, “The Life and Films of Director Ha Gil-jong” written by Cho Jun-hyong (Korean Film Archive), “Seizing the Misfortune of Time” written by Kim Young-jin (professor), and “The March of Fools and Censorship: or How to Appreciate This Film” by Chung Chong-hwa (Korean Film Archive). The last essay is incredibly informative with information about what was censored from the film and the screenplay in detail. KOFA has put together informative extras, but there aren’t any interviews with the stars or staff, or a documentary on the director. Usually everything on KOFA releases are English-friendly including all extras, so it is a little surprising that the footage and the galleries are not subtitled in English, but then again, the footage is repeating what it already in the film, and to translate all those pages of documents and the screenplay was too much to ask for.
Packaging
The Korean Film Archive releases are known for their lavish digipak packaging, but there is a slight change in design for the Blu-rays. Packaged in a standard size black Blu-ray keep case, it is housed in a sturdy slipcase which holds the keep case and the 42-page booklet. The slipcase, designed by Plain Archive is labeled "002" on the spine, being the second release of the KOFA Blu-ray collection. I'm not really sure why they chose a black and white still when the film is in color, and the pink lettering with the 2 guys in the communal bath made it seem like a gay comedy rather than what the film is.
Overall
The second Blu-ray from the Korean Film Archive is another very worthy release. Although some might question the quality of the film itself being considered one of the greatest Korean movies of all time, the contextual information that this Blu-ray provides will make you appreciate the film much more. Highly recommended. KOFA has released their first 2 Blu-rays at the end of 2014 (“The Housemaid” and “The March of Fools”) and they will release their next 2 Blu-rays of "Heavenly Homecoming to the Stars" (1974, directed by Lee Jang-ho and written by "The March of Fools" writer Choi In-ho) and "Chil-su and Man-su" (1988, directed by Park Kwang-su) at the end of 2015.
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