A Naked Spark

A SPARK!

      I'm going to jump right in. Soooo... some students were gathered on a beach sharing stories, thoughts and feelings. The scene opens up with the main character illustrating to his friends how dire their situation is. AND THEN...

 masterpiece film status super in-depth analysis incoming...

      ...AND THEN my favorite scene of the movie happened, that’s right; this dude started singing and dancing. And what a good song it was! Anyone knows what is it? Let me know if you do! What a beautiful scene, a group of youngsters gathered together having a jolly ‘ol time on the beach, reminding us that they still possess a child’s heart, as should everyone. I am going to push it even further by noting (and how could we not) how all the boys took off their clothes and ran into the ocean. It shows us that these kids, these youngsters, have nothing to hide. Their intent is clear and laid out for the world to see; they want to make a change. When you show your hand (card game) you are vulnerable, you are honest, you are naked. To reinforce this, the following scene shows Tae-Il visiting the bureau and presenting his demands as the Fool’s Assossiation’s president, he’s laying it out there for the higher-ups to see. (Not to confuse this allusion to Tae-Il showing his butt to the woman at the desk, lol!) On the other hand, we may wonder why the group started singing loudly, dancing wierdly and strip their clothes. Was it an attempt to show how "crazy" they are? Is their goal so ridiculous it must be because they are dilusional?

You've got to re-watch this.

      At one point, the camera slowly moves toward the fire and as soon as it did, I figured the fire was meant to be the central object of the shot. Then I remembered the beginning, the lighter held by the boy, also I figured this had something to do with the title of the film. The whole idea that Tae-Il actually became the fire WILLINGLY is ridiculously genius. The sparks created by the fire foreshadowed the sparks created by Tae-Il’s self-immolation. Sparks start fires, fires that grow and grow. The literal and symbolic spark Tae-Il started grew to unimaginable heights. The fire for workers’ rights, the idea that there is hope for a brighter future (Ooh I feel so poetic suddenly! :). A burning fire is a metaphor for hope. Tae-Il was the representation of that hope in South Korea at the time, he wasn’t human anymore, he was meant to be a symbol. The moment he dug a grave and lied in it, his life wasn’t his own anymore, in a way his human life ended in that grave, he buried the boy he was and from that point on started living (and dying) as a symbol. He embraced his destiny, knowing full well how it would play out. 

      The above picture depicts the main character's short monologue. Tae-Il’s world consists of the Pyung-Hwa Market and its workers. It means everything to him, from afar it seems small and insignificant, like a spark, but for Tae-Il, it is everything. What seems small at first, grows bigger and larger in correlation with the attention it receives. badaboom!

-Julien Cloutier