Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves

After the confusion he experienced with Ardor, Filmbrain decided to seek out every contemporary Korean "wife committing adultery" film. Though there are a still more to see, it's unlikely any film can surpass Jung Ji-woo's Happy End for sheer originality in its handling of the subject. At the very least, it confirms beyond any doubt that Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, Chihwaseon) is one of the greatest actors currently working in film. Though he utters just a handful of lines in the film, his performance will both break your heart and scare the hell out of you. Set during the 1999 fiscal crisis where unemployment in South Korea skyrocketed from 2% to 8% in under a year, Happy End daringly presents an unfamiliar situation that was in reality becoming more commonplace -- the husband acting as domestic caretaker while the wife goes off to work. While Hollywood has tackled this subject in a lighthearted way (Mr. Mom) this was a real blow to Korean masculinity. Casting Choi Min-sik (best known at the time for tough-guy roles) was an inspired choice. Here he plays Min-gi, an unemployed banker unable to find work who has been relegated to taking care of the house, the baby, and his wife Bora (Jeon Do-yeon). Jung wastes no time showing us that Min-gi and Bora have swapped roles not only within the household, but in societal stereotypes as well. He spends his days sitting in second-hand bookstores reading romance novels and crying at night while watching bad television soap operas. In between, he is a Baby-Bjorn-wearing househusband responsible for keeping their lives in order. Bora works at an exclusive English-language school (for children of the wealthy), mistreats and shows no appreciation for her husband, and is having an affair with a man who works for her (who also happens to be a former lover). [Note: spoilers follow.] A good portion of the film follows Min-gi from his initial suspicion to his finding and gathering evidence of his wife's affair. With virtually no dialog, Choi skillfully manages to convey the incredible pain and disillusionment he must be experiencing. It's almost too much to bear -- we keep waiting for him to confront his wife, but he never does. It's only when Bora endangers the life of their child that Min-gi realizes he has to do something, yet his decision to brutally murder her and frame the lover in the process is hardly what we would have expected. At first glance it may appear that Jung has fashioned a simple misogynistic "she done him wrong" story. In actuality, Happy End is much more of an exposé of the double standards that exist in Korean society. In one of the few conversations between Min-gi and Bora, she chastises him over his handling of the domestic responsibilities -- he doesn't know where to buy the cheapest groceries, or find the freshest bread, etc. She tells him that until he finds work, he will have to do a better job at running the house -- a double dose of humiliation. As Kyung Hyun Kim points out in his book The Remasculization of Korean Cinema, Min-gi's murder of Bora is "subconsciously legitimated by viewers not because she is a woman, but more importantly because she is just as bad as any working man." (p257) Bad husbands, as depicted in Korean cinema, are often shown having affairs and denigrating their wives' contribution to the household. Yet 'normal' masculine insensitivity towards domesticity never leaves the audience hoping that the wife will kill her husband. Bora is punished for exhibiting masculine behavior simply due to her not being born a man. Audiences are willing to accept a neglectful father, but a mother -- that is beyond the pale. Jung most likely caught many people off-guard with this one, hence exposing a terrible double standard. A very effective approach. (Of course, a somewhat ambiguous ending is thrown in -- just to leave us wondering if the murder even took place at all.) Happy End is an important film, and was especially so in 1999. In the last few years the divorce rate has skyrocketed in Korea -- in 1990 it was 11%, this year it is at 50% -- Bora might no longer be concerned about the stigma of divorce as she did in 1999. Recent Korean films (especially those by Hong Sang-soo) have taken a very different approach to the "wife-as-adulterer" character (i.e., Turning Gate) in that these women do have the option to walk away from marriage, but they too (like men) want the best of both worlds. Comparing this film with Ardor is an exercise in futility -- they're chalk and cheese. Though not a masterpiece, Filmbrain is still assigning Happy End with a must-see status, simply for Choi Min-sik's performance. (Available on Region 1 DVD -- Netflix has it as well.)