Deconstruction of Personal vs. Impersonal modes in Shiri

What struck me most about Shiri was the contrast between the harsh impersonal feeling that is implied through half of the movie, and the sweet, perfect and romantic life that is implied in the other half--and the ultimate deconstruction of their boundaries.

We are introduced to Shiri in a very harsh way. There are montages of military training in the cold rain. Dummies are shot without any feeling in either subject, the shooter or the target. There is ambiguity in gender when we see the bodies and faces of the soldiers--everything leads us to feel cold and separated. Several times, someone's secret files are displayed--as if the lives of people can be summed up in cold impersonal images within a folder. They flash among the screen, the photos full of blood--but we never learn anything about the personality of the victims in the files.

In start contrast, the non-military life is heavenly, ideal. Things seem bleach white, almost over-exposed, and relaxed and romantic. The opening bed scene is lazy, happy, and in love. Full of inside jokes and mundane tasks, the viewer learns to loathe the spy scenes and love the lovey ones.

Does this sharp contrast between the two different modes lead us to feel that the demise of the happiness is inevitable? Or does the mask work? For me, the mask truly worked. I really felt sympathy with the woman who is later revealed to be Hee. When the barrier was broken down and the truth was revealed--quickly and harshly--there is no looking back. We yearn for the easiness of the love scenes but that world has suddenly been demolished.

I couldn't help but consider the fish tanks and aquariums as the bridge between these two modes. Regardless of whether Hee was Hee or Yi, she always returned to the fish, fed the fish--positioned directly above her top secret room. They were consistent and their minds were neutral. They were ultimately used as a weapon--to spy on South Korea--but they were also used as something positive, as decoration tenderly cared for.

The divide between the two modes was truly real for me, and it felt so regrettable that everything had to collapse. I feel almost as if the director has had experience making romance movies, it was so convincing. I am learning to become cold toward characters!