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Chilsu and Mansu AKA Chilsu wa Mansu
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - South Korea - Korean Film Archive/Blue Kino Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (16th January 2016). |
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The Film
 "Chilsu and Mansu" (1988) Chilsu (played by Park Joong-hoon) is a man in his early 20’s leading a carefree imaginative life. He falls for and follows a girl, Jina (played by Bae Jong-ok) who works at a Burger King, he quits his job as a painter for movie theater posterboards on a whim, and finds a new place to live with a stranger, all within the same day. Chilsu meets Mansu (played by Ahn Sung-ki) who works as a highrise billboard and sign painter. Mansu is slightly older than Chilsu and lives in a ragged old shack alone, but Chilsu with his charm asks Mansu (while drunk) for a place to stay and the two become inseparable. Work is not steady or high paying, but the two work high above the city painting buildings and billboards around Seoul. Chilsu keeps his mind occupied with the thoughts of going out with Jina, which he does get lucky enough for some dates, but his bad habit of lying slowly starts catching up to him. Chilsu lies to Jina that he is an art student, telling Mansu that he has military experience, and that he has an older brother in Miami, for a few examples. While the stories are said to make a connection to the people around him, his entire life story becomes caught up in the lies, to which even Mansu gets caught in his web. To impress Jina with art, Chilsu begs Mansu to play along, by telling her that Mansu is a Korean artist living in France. Comical happenings throughout, the reality is much darker for the both of them. Chilsu comes from a broken family with everyone living apart. Mansu’s father is a political prisoner which has limited Mansu’s family’s status and also his career. The two never talk about their realities, with Chilsu always hiding behind lies to make things seem better than they are, and Mansu keeping quiet overall, though when alcohol comes into play he lets out some of his frustrations. Will things continue for them whimsically up in the air or will reality come falling down? “Chilsu and Mansu” was the directorial debut of Park Kwang-su, when he was 33 years old. Park, who studied film in France at École supérieure d'études cinématographiques (ESEC), was the founder of the "Seoul Film Group" - an organization made to renew interest in Korean cinema, and also closely tied to anti-government student protests during the strict military dictatorship of South Korea. Art and media were frequently monitored and censored by the government. “Chilsu and Mansu” was based on the stage play of the same name, which was secretly (to the government) an adaptation of the short story “The Two Sign Painters” by Taiwanese writer Huang Chunming, whose works had been banned by the South Korean government due to the author’s stance on socialism. But with the work being uncredited, it slipped passed the censors. Not only that but subtext and many elements of the film went completely unaffected by the censors: the political imprisonment of Mansu’s father who rejects his own freedom for his anti-government beliefs, uprisings and sacrifices of political and social ideals, military and police control, and social inequality. But how did all of the obvious slip over the censorship department? 1988 was the year of the Seoul Summer Olympics. “Chilsu and Mansu” was submitted to the censorship office on the opening day of the Olympics, so the government offices were completely swamped with Olympic related concerns such as tourism and international relations, and most likely passed the film without looking over it in absolute detail. Not to say South Korea was under strict rule in 1988, as newly elected South Korean President Roh Tae-woo worked to democratize the country, lifting restrictions, and giving the press more freedom, though there was still some form of censorship leftover from the military dictatorship era. “Chilsu and Mansu” depicted a “modern” South Korean, taking place in 1987 before democratic reforms. Hints of these can be seen in election posters for President Roh Tae-woo on the streets, a movie theater marquee with “Lethal Weapon” (1987), Chilsu and Jina going to the theater to see “Rocky IV” (released in South Korea in 1987), and the songs featured in the club scene “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley (I promise the links aren't RickRolled) and “My Love” by London Boys, were both released in 1987 (though the director mistakenly says the year is supposedly 1986 in the commentary). The presence of Western culture is everywhere in the film: as mentioned with the music and movie references of 1987, Jina’s workplace of Burger King, Chilsu imagining driving a red sports car on the Miami coast with Jina like the couple in the racing video game “Out Run”, the pictures of Marlon Brando and James Dean, and Chilsu’s attempts to pick up Jina with his memoed English speech. South Korean cinema of the 1960’s did not depict South Korea in a realistic fashion but rather what the government wanted Korea to be. There were some breakthroughs in the 1970’s such as “The March of Fools” (1975) and “Heavenly Homecoming to Stars” (1974) which depicted parts of South Korea not seen in cinema before - a real image of the streets and city. This was the time of “The Film Era (Yeong-sang-shi-dae)” movement, a supposed new wave of South Korean cinema which had its setbacks - government censorship, little financial support, and little interest from cinemagoers, only lasting 3 years until 1978. A far cry from the French New Wave of the 60’s, The American New Cinema from the late 60’s, or the Japanese New Wave from the late 60’s, which all changed the face of cinema in their respective countries as well as influencing cinema abroad. “New Korean Cinema” really began with in 1988 with “Chilsu and Mansu”. It became the first South Korean film to be screened in Western countries that depicted modern Korea as opposed to war films or period dramas, and garnered acclaim from South Korean filmmakers and critics. Though surprisingly it wasn’t a big hit - only 73,000 tickets were sold. A far cry from “Prostitute” directed by Yu Jin-seon, the biggest South Korean film of 1988 selling 432,000 tickets. But the impact was definitely felt by later filmmakers. Park Joong-hoon was 24 at the time he played Chilsu, and the then 36 year old Ahn Sung-ki played Mansu. Like the aforementioned “Lethal Weapon”, the pair of seemingly opposites that find an unlikely bond between them are depicted quite well albeit sometimes frustratingly with both Chilsu’s childish mannerisms and Mansu’s stubbornness. The duo’s cinematic relationship goes further, acting together in the police comedy “Two Cops” (1993), in the police action film “Nowhere to Hide” (1999), and the music-based comedy "Radio Star" (2006). Jina, who was played by 24 year old Bae Jong-ok whose first film was “Chilsu and Mansu” continues in television, film, theater, winning various awards for her work and also teaches Theater and Film Studies at a university. Director Park Kwang-su continued in film sporadically, with only 5 films directed in the 1990s and 2 films in the 2000s, including the award winning films “Black Republic” (1990), “Berlin Report” (1991), and “A Single Spark” (1995). “Chilsu and Mansu” won Best New Director at the 27th Daejong Film Awards, Best New Director at the 25th Baeksang Arts Awards, Best New Director at the 9th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, and 3rd Prize at the 42nd Locarno International Film Festival (Switzerland). Note: this is a region ALL Blu-ray which can be played back on any Blu-ray player worldwide.
Video
The Korean Film Archive/Blue Kino presents the film in 1080p in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio in the AVC MPEG-4 codec. The original theatrical ratio of 1.85:1 has been slightly opened up. Mastered from the original negative, the picture looks generally great, but not perfect. The image depth and clarity are great, with details like the main characters’ raggedy shack, Chilsu’s jean jacket, and cityscapes looking natural with no artificial sharpening. Colors also look very good, considering the age of the boring 1980’s. Sometimes 1980’s films look a little overblown in color (possibly to accommodate standard-def TV broadcasts which had difficulty with darker colors?), but colors such as the paint used by the main characters, skin tones, the colors of Burger King are slightly darker than expected. Overall it looks great and the image has been cleaned up and stabilized, though if you look closely there are small specs of dust and debris here and there. Excellent work from the Korean Film Archive. The film is currently available to see for free online at the Korean Film Archive YouTube channel, in 360p and with English subtitles. The Blu-ray is much better in image and sound, but not as drastic a difference as “Heavenly Homecoming to Stars” which was like a night and day difference with the YouTube version and the Blu-ray version.
Audio
Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 dual mono The original mono track has been cleaned and remastered and sounds good for what it is. Unlike many Korean films of the past, “Chilsu and Mansu” had synchronized sound, so no bad overdubbing or unnatural studio ADR are heard in dialogue scenes. Dialogue sometimes has its limitations with a bit of reverb on “S” and “Ch” sounds. There are no cracks or popping sounds, but music can sound a little on the flat side, expectedly for the mono soundtrack film. So the songs by London Boys and Rick Astley in the club scene sound a little flat but obviously cheesy fun, as well as the new wave and hip hop infused Korean music of Kim Soo-cheol. There are optional English, Japanese, and Korean subtitles for the film. All three are in a white font. The English subtitles are excellent in quality with no spelling or grammar errors to report of.
Extras
Audio commentary by director Park Kwang-su and film critic Kim Young-jin Moderated by critic Kim Young-jin, director Park Kwang-su sits for a revealing and fun commentary track about his directorial debut. They talk about the inspiration for the film, the challenges making the film including harnessing the actors on ropes over the sides of buildings without safety wires, arguments Park had with the experienced cinematographer You Young-gil, the sad state of South Korean cinema prior to “Chilsu and Mansu”, and much more. There are some embarrassments to say such as the cheesy nightclub scene and how they were able to use film clips of “Rocky IV” (it was used without permission…). in Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English and Korean subtitles Image Gallery (12 stills) Still photographs taken during production and poster are here. in 1080p 42-Page Book As always with Korean Film Archive, a hefty 42 page booklet half in Korean and half in English is provided with a wealth of information. Included is contemporary reviews, staff and cast credits, a synopsis, a biography and filmography of Park Kwang-su, and the essays “About the Director: The Most Earnest View of Korean New Cinema” by film critic Kim Hyung-seok and “About the Film: First Signs of the Korean New Wave: Chilsu and Mansu” by film critic Jang Byung-won. 20-Page Photo Booklet Differing from the photos in the Image Gallery on the disc are color photographs of the production. Although it states “signed by the director”, it is just a printed signature on his photo. Like the Blu-ray of “Heavenly Homecoming to Stars”, this seems a little light on the extras department. Sure the commentary and book have in depth information, but there are no comments or interviews from the stars, who are still active in the entertainment world.
Packaging
The disc is packaged in a clear keep case which is housed in an outer slipcase. Both booklets are also housed in the slipcase. The outer slipcase used a still from the climactic finale at the giant billboard, though it looks a little blurry. I assume this is how the original photo was, but I don’t see why they didn’t use a much more in-focus picture, since all the photos inside the case and the photo booklet look pin sharp.
Overall
“Chilsu and Mansu” is unarguably the first film in the “Korean New Cinema” movement, changing the face of South Korean cinema right at the time South Korea itself was changing, with the Olympics, democratization, and relaxed freedom. The Korean Film Archive/Blue Kino Blu-ray gives excellent video and very good audio with informative supplements making this recommended.
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