Film review rainbow trout
Film review-rainbow troutRainbow Trout' is a film about five urbanites who visit a fish
farmer in a small secluded village and come to realize the deceptiveness of human nature. Characters in the film are roughly divided into two groups: typical modern city dwellers and simple-minded village people living around the fish farm. The urbanites include the Min-su couple (a bank worker and his wife, Jung-wha), Sae-wha (younger sister of Jung-wha), and the Byung-kwan couple (owner of a steak house and his wife, Young-sook). The villagers include the trout breeder Chang-hyun (friend of Min-su and
former lover of Jung-wha), Tae-ju (a young man), and a group of
wild hunters. Once the urbanites move into the world of the village
people, the differences in the social status of the characters become
meaningless. As Chang-hyun's fish-farm gets crowded with urban visitors, it becomes a claustrophobic space filled with a
suffocating atmosphere. The fish-farm changes into a nightmarish
stage where every character reveals repressed desires and a demonic
nature. Initially, the characters are: cultured and reasonable, the Min-su couple and Sae-wha; calculating but friendly, the Byung-kwan
couple; considerate and disinterested, Chang-yun;innocent-looking,
Tae-ju; and crude but well-meaning, the hunters. However, all turn out to be selfish and cowardly people concerned only about themselves. In the midst of this nightmarish stage, the characters observe the trout and find when the trout are stressed out, they have an unsettling way of hitting their heads against the wall until they die. The correlation between theoverwhelmed trout and characters is irresistible. Rainbow Trout' is the 4th feature film by director Chong-won Park. As a film maker, he has not made many movies. In fact, ten years have passed since he made his debutfilm, Kuro Arirang'. He is, however, known as an experimental and creative film
maker in terms of cinematic style and thematic content. For
example, his 2nd feature, Our Twisted Hero', dealt with political allegory, and his 3rd feature, Eternal Empire' opened a new genre of thriller/mystery/ period drama. Director Park's ever-renewing interest in a mosaic film style and subject matter is obvious in Rainbow Trout', as well. First, it is a hybrid-genre film composed of comedy, horror, grotesque humor, and every day life. Secondly, while his previous films have focused on the theme of "power" in
varying degrees, this film focuses on the theme of "repressed
desire" or "primitive instinct" in human beings. Rainbow Trout' marks his departure from socio-political issues.
In addition, compared with his previous characters, which were
based on good and evil in polar opposition, Rainbow Trout's characters are much more down-to-earth and realistic. They are all described as
ordinary common people with the same weaknesses and whims as us. At first, visitors from the city seem discreet and reasonable, but
they soon prove to be whimsical and shallow people upon arrival at
the fish-farm. They soon miss the comforts of city life, such as...
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