Whispering Radio

www.pianosoloradio.com




원래는 뉴에이지 음악 따위 전혀 좋아하지 않는데, 아까부터 계속 whispering radio station에 머물러 있다. 바로크 음악만 주구장창 나오는 스테이션에서 논리적이고 차분한 음악들을 듣고 있다가 바꾼 채널이 여기다. 공부할 땐 원래 바로크 음악을 듣는다. 이따금 사람들이 유난떠는 대로 모차르트를 듣기도 한다. 일탈이 없는 꽉 짜여진 구성 안에서 단어를 암기한다. 그런데 오늘은 바로크 작곡가들의 이성과 천재성을 좀 견디기 힘들다. 그저 '직장생활 5년차에 비정규직이지만 자신의 확고한 취향을 갖고 있다고 믿는 24살 여자애'처럼, 이따금 지루할 지언정 아무런 감흥도 자아내지 못하는 뉴에이지 피아노 음악을 듣는다. 오늘 그녀의 취향이 나를 구한다.

Even though I don't like New Age music at all, Whispering Radio Station is being tuned now in my room. I would be in the Baroque Music Station, listening to the logical and unequivocal sound of Baroque music. I usually listen to Baroque music when I study. Sometimes I depend on the belief that Mozart's music is good for enhance the studying ability, struggling to memorize vocabulary. However, I just felt exhausted with the virtuosity of the Baroque composers whose sense and sensibility are regarded as the divined. As if I were a 'high school graduate female temporary office worker who strongly believe her decent taste of music', I am listening to this uninspiring and even somewhat boring music. Her taste save me tonight.

Uruphong Raksasad can't speak English.

I suddenly recalled the moment that I questioned to Uruphong Raksasad in Vancouver 2006. Even though, he was with the interpreter in the GV session, I just assumed that he actually could speak English. But he couldn't. He could only give me a simple and a few words of answer. I think Uruphong Raksasad who cannot speak English more suits his films, not something like 'countrified' mood but 'similarity' of him with his objects. That's how he has become a master.

Also he has become, I guess, more fluent in speaking English now. :-)

문득 갑자기 우루퐁 락사사드에게 2006년 밴쿠버에서 말걸었을 때가 생각난다. GV 때 태국인 통역자가 함께 했었지만 나는 그냥 그가 엘리트고 영어를 당연히 하리라 생각했다. 그러나 아니었다. 그는 내 질문에 그저 간단한 대답밖에 해주지 못했다. 당시 나는 좀 실망했던 거 같다. 이미 그만큼 유명해진 다른 감독들의 코스모폴리턴한 세련됨에 견주어 그는 정말 그의 영화 속 마을에서 금방 날아온 사람같았기 때문이다. 그러나 영어 못하는 우루퐁 락사사드가 그의 영화에 더 잘 어울린다고, 문득 생각해본다. 촌스럽다는 측면에서가 아니라, 대상과의 유대, 대상과의 유사성, 대상과의 (어떤 투명한) 관계에 있어서 말이다. 그렇게 그는 거장이 됐다.

물론 지금 그는 영어를 퍽 잘 할 거다. ㅋ

There are no adults in Haiti now.

I was just about to fell off from the running machine. I just disinterestly staring at the TV installed to the running machine tuned to, for my English listening practice, CNN. I just closed my eyes unintentionally, partly because of the horrible situation there. Mainly, however, I just couldn't bear the way the CNN was dealing with the disaster. I said to my self "Oh my god" and just wanted to escape from that how journalism of developed countries, probably including Korea, were tempting to shoot 'something' mist of the hell, where they don't belong to, Haiti.


Haiti's disasters were filling the screen and heroic journalists from the US were depicting what is going on there. Everything seemed so terrible, as you can tell. The only thing that was NOT miserabe were the CNN journalists. The anchor was weary of if her reporters were ok in Haiti where after quakes are still in effect, but the reports looked 'relatively' clean, for sure, and civilized in the land of, even befor the earthquake, poverty and history of slavery. And they WERE hero. It was , I recall, that showed the scene of rescuing a child from the piles of concretes, followed by active camara crews, driven by male CNN reporter. The anchor was proudly delivering the story with the typical confident tone of American news caster, saying "You will not see anything like this except CNN's ." In the other story, the reporter were showing where lost of Haitian were in long line to get on the free rescue ferry in worn-out boats in the ocean. He was interviewing the owner of the ferry, who was white and supposed to be warm-hearted world citizen, letting the refugees behind as a backgroun, symbolizing how hellish Haiti now was. CNN reporters are humaine, while Haitians are not; Haitians were merely rushing and struggling only to survive unlike civilized humain beings.

Even though Haitian children have lost their lives and they are in needs the most desperately, there were no adults amonog Haitians. They are all vunerable kids for the outer world, for the camera-carrying developed countries.

New 'to-do list' - matter of Space in Korean indie cinema now

(샘터분식(Samteo Snack Bar) dir. Tae Jun-sik, 2009)

In Korean Indie Film realm, 'Space' has become an important issue lately and they require some tool to analyze what these films are participating on the discourse. Because usually it has been told how desperate and miserable for the residents of the rural area are, aside from the politics of the way of representation. That is mainly focusing on societal exclusion. However, at this time in Korea, when a dream of Construction State promoted by the government is whaling over the country, some other points also should be suggested. It could be modernity as a historical factor and labor as a (personal) lifetime history narrative.

One of my friend sent me a list of 'things fo read' to research the matter in a basis of sociology. Truly wonderful. We're going to have something like a seminar with this. Supposedly, more 'outraged' documentaries will come out this spring's "Indie Documentary Film Festival". This research should be totally helpful.

I should wrap up the other issue on 'working poor twenties in Korean indie films' as soon as possible(pretty doubtful, though...).

Lovers(2009) - Kim Do-yeon

http://siff.or.kr/eng/program/short_view.html?mov_idx=796&gubun=2

Today's a new years day and I have no idea why this film hit my head. I'm right here in my chill room alone, just surfing the internet without any purpose. I think I happened to consider 'what was the no.1 film for me in 2009?' or sort of things. I took '2009 Seoul Independent Film Festival catalog' away and flipped it, not looking through any of the pages. And this film just came from my brain. Perhaps it's because this film is about desire, so to speak, the fate or the destiny of desire.

This film is about (hopeless) old gay man. But this film expands the subject to 'how much we should be desperate to get what we desire' and 'how uncertain and hostile the object of desire always is'. And it's not just about the homosexual. His boyfriend, Ho Yeong also had a 'girl friend', which the protagonist didn't know(he would have known but ignored it). After Ho Yeong disappeared without a notice, these two, the girl and the protagonist, got confused and happened to share the same feeling.

This film's Korean title has a different meaning from the English translated one. It means 'Love Story'. It's like "Let me tell you my love story." It sounds so 'trivial' that it doesn't suitable to cover this 'shocking'(for some Korean audience) story. But that's the way it is. That's the way every 'Love Story' is supposed to be;Truly sincere for somebody but not for the others, and totally heartbreaking at some time but for nothing afterwards.

The atmosphere of this film is elegant and worth to see. Invited to Clermont-Ferrand Shorts Festival.

SIFF(Seoul Independant Film Festival) Winners

Grand winner
Earth's Women
dir. Woo-jung Kwon / 2009 / Documentary / Color / HD / 95 min.

the First Prize
Border City 2
dir. Hyung-sook Hong / 2009 / Documentary / Color / DV/ 104min

the Second Prize
Don't step out of the house
dir. Sung-hee Jo / 2008 / Fiction/ Color / HD / 43min

Award for a maverick(독불장군상)
Border City 2
dir. Hyung-sook Hong / 2009 / Documentary / Color / DV/ 104min

Audience Award
Turn it up to 11
dir. Seung-hwa Baek / 2009 / Documentary / Color / DV / 94 min

Special Mention
Cuban Boyfriend
dir. Ho-hyun Joung / 2009 / Documentary / Color / beta DV / 72 min

Take Place
dir. Yong-seok Park / 2009/ Experimental / Color / HD / 17 min

<사당동 더하기 22> 메모

조은 감독은 63살. 65학번. 65학번이면 당시엔 어마어마한 집안 출신이었다는 말이다. 거의 여왕님이었다는 말이다. 이 영화는 박경태(<나와 부엉이>)를 비롯한 동국대 사회학과, 영화학과 학생들을 데려다가 시킨 22년간의 (착취의) 기록. 사당동 빈민촌에 살다가 그 지역이 개발되면서 다른 지역으로 옮겨간 수많은 철거민들 중 유일하게 상계동 임대아파트에 입성한 가족을 22년동안 기록/지배 했다.

엊그제 네이트 메인에 걸린 이 영화 관련 기사.

http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/society/200910/h2009102202371284100.htm

-마지막 장면에서 장남 영주가 필리핀 신부로부터 낳은 아이를 두고 "얘는 교수처럼 거창한 거 말고 영어 선생이되었으면 좋겠다."고 말했다. 이것은 조은 교수와의 20년 간의 상호작용에서 온 결과일 수도 있음. 조은 교수가 좀더 그 가족들에게 '좋은' 사람이었다면, 그는 감히, 딸래미가 교수 됐으면 좋겠다, 고 말했을지도 모른다.

-마지막 closing says, "이것은 한 가족의 이야기이다. 그러나 단지 한 가족의 이야기만은 아니다."

딱 이 만큼의 책임감과 문제의식.

- 기사에서...

"애를 유산하려고 했는데 돈 몇 십만 원이 없으니까 한 달 두 달 기다리다가 애가 커졌지. 돈만 있으면 낳지 않았지." 손녀의 삶에 혀를 차는 정 할머니의 혼잣말도 조 교수의 카메라에 담겼다.

반면 바로 그 앞 부분에서...

한 달에 한 두 번은 꼭 시간을 내서 찾았고 명절이나 할머니 증손녀가 태어난 날 등 특별한 날도 놓치지 않았다.

그런데 조은은 낙태할 돈이 없어 애를 지우지 못한 은주를 보고만 있었다? 혹은 그냥 오랜만에 찾아갔을 때 그런 말을 할머니로부터 들은 것뿐이다? 대체 진실은 무엇?

오히려 이 장면이 '빈곤한 자'들의 '무개념'을 이야기하기 위한 한 에피소드처럼 보이는 이유는 무엇일까.

-아버지가 영화 극본가였던 유지나 교수(동국대)는 이 영화를 두고 엄청난 극찬을 했다고 한다. 그녀 역시 조은 교수와 같은 동네, 즉 여왕네 출신.

-80분 버전에서도, 영주가 필리핀 가서 대학원생들과 포르노보는 장면이 들어 있나?

-시간이 지날 수록 조은 감독은 어떻게 변했을까. 그 20년 넘는 시간 동안. 아마 좀더 그들에 대해 지배적인 사람이 됐을 거다. 할머니가 있을 때 못 들었던 보다 내밀한 이야기들을 들을 수 있는 위치로...