Narrative vs spectacle

In ChilSu and Mansu, there are numerous shots of legs. I think the director intentionally shot legs in order to convey the theme of unstable masculinity. For instance, the camera is on Chilsu’s legs when he forces a kiss on China and on Mansu’s when he is peeing in public while taking a break from painting the billboard. In fact, since Chilsu develops a relationship with China based on lies, the shot of his legs when he is stalking China goes to reinforce his undermined masculinity. According to Kyung Hyun Kim, the Korean males suffered from unstable masculinities due to traumas from violent political past. As a result, the two male protagonists have hard time articulating and expressing themselves verbally. In fact, their inability to explain the intentions behind their actions results in Mansu’s death and Chilsu’s arrest.

I think the director employs frequent extreme long shots in order to reduce the tension produced from the characters’ suffering. For instance, when Mansu gets into an intense fist fight at the outdoors pub, it is difficult to watch when the camera is in medium shot. When it cuts to a long shot, however, I felt it was bearable to watch it. Also, after Mansu has a conversation with his sister who wails over the injustice of their father who is put in prison, the scene cuts to an extreme long shot of Mansu in the nature which produced a similar effect from me.

Chilsu and Mansu plays with the audiences’ knowledge of the Hollywood classical narrative style and repeatedly breaks away from the narrative in order to bring attention to its fictional quality. For instance, it departs from 180 degrees rule and uses 360 degrees. In the opening scene, the camera slowly turns in a circle while staying in one place to show the view of the city. Furthermore, the zooming ins and outs are used at moments that do not support the narrative. For example, when Chilsu and Mansu are having a conversation over a drink, the camera slowly zooms out.

In fact, Chilsu and Mansu is filled with the appearance of screens that take over the narrative’s screen. What I mean is that in the game room, the screens of the helicopter shooting missiles and the race car replace our screen. Thus, it disrupts the narrative and also makes the audience aware of the fact that what they are watching is the product of technology and not ‘real’.

What is most interesting about the film is that it plays with our expectation and intentionally does things to surprise us or play a trick on us. The daydreaming and recollection sequences are told in a confusing manner that causes a sense of uncertainty. In particular, after the scene of Chilsu and Mansu drinking together, it cuts to Chilsu painting a skyscraper while hanging on to a rope. Next, we see Chilsu falling off the sky. It shocked me because there was no cue that signaled the scene as being Chilsu’s imagination.

Thus, Chilsu and Mansu is a film that does two interesting things: it depicts unstable masculinity due to violent political past and it deliberately breaks away from the narrative and brings the audiences’ attention to the fact that what they are watching is a film.