Let’s
review. If the characters are on a blind
date, it’s a rom-com, but if they are internet dating, it’s a horror
movie. Yes, Korean horror master Kim
Jee-woon indeed crosses over to the sunnier side of the street (let’s hope temporarily)
with his pleasant short film One Perfect
Day (trailer
here), which
screens today as part of the mighty 2013 New York Asian Film Festival.
Woon-chul
badly wants to meet Ms. Right, so he gamely accepts a series of blind
dates. Unfortunately, that is really not
a good forum for him. Nonetheless, he
makes a spectacularly counterproductive effort with Yoo-jin. She is clearly not a good fit for him, but he
drags her into a large municipal park (in heels), hoping to win her over
through a game of rock-paper-scissors.
It might seem like a dubious choice, but he has his reasons. However, she still is not the one. That might be Eun-hee, who appears when and where
Woon-chul least expects to find her.
Commissioned
by a Korean sporting goods firm to celebrate their fortieth anniversary, OPD is light years removed from Kim’s brilliantly
disturbing I Saw the Devil and his underperforming
Hollywood debut, The Last Stand (here’s
a marketing tip: putting Johnny Knoxville in a hat with ear flaps on your
one-sheet will not necessarily guarantee box office gold). OPD
has its charms though, especially when Korean superstar Park Shin-hye lights up
the third act. Still, Yoon Kye-sang’s
Woon-chul is so manically keen, it is hard to blame Yoo-jin for wanting the
heck out of there. In fact, viewers
might find themselves rooting for Park Soo-jin and her perfect WTF expressions. Nonetheless, Kim brings it all together with
a payoff that implies much, but is quite satisfying.
