This quiet South Corean film is about the slow demise of a nightclub band. Set in the 1990's or perhaps the late 1980's in rural Corea, the film is primarily a character piece centered on the band leader, the quiet and enduring Hae-il.
There's a lot of rumination on the changes that occur between idealistic youth and realistic adulthood and somehow Hae-il manages to stand somewhere in the middle, unmarried and continuing to pursue a music career although his band is falling apart. Over the course of the film, there is a lengthy flashback to the main character's youth, which sets up and explains further events over the course of the film.
In many ways, this film is akin to Take Care of My Cat, another South Corean film about high school graduates' struggles in the real world.
Although musicians are the focus of the film, music isn't the focus of the film, just the dressing by which we can view the characters and their exploits. The writing is subtle, but not boring. The portrayals are likewise subtle, but manage to emotional and somehow not seem over-the-top. The direction is basically invisible Hollywood direction, which works to let the story and characters shine.
It's not a happy film, but perhaps a bittersweet one, with the taste of nostalgia, an enduring perseverance in the face of reality and yet an understanding of the way that things must be. It's a story that many artists and dreamers can relate to. And I'm grateful for this film. I'm biased because of my affinity for the topics therein, so I'd have to rate it excellent. 8/10.
