“삼공일 삼공이” (301 302), the 1995 film by 박철수 (Park Chul-soo) is about compulsion. Song (played by 방은진), the woman in apartment 301, does nothing but cook, preparing dish after dish, bringing them to Yun (played by 황신혜), the woman in apartment 302, who wants nothing more than to vomit at the sight of all that food. One minute the screen is filled with loving shots of deep fried prawns being caressed with chili sauce; the next, we have to endure close-ups of dry retching and vomiting.
This is a hard watch and as Yun’s history of sexual abuse at the hands of her father unfolded, I found myself becoming more than a little queasy. Park Chul-soo’s extreme close-ups of chewing mouths start to taint the beautiful food with a sense of disgust and unease. Coupled with Song’s bullying and force-feeding of Yun, the film tries its best to assault the viewer’s senses.
After hearing Yun’s story, Song behaves more kindly towards her and the film begins to focus on Song’s difficult past with her husband and Chong-Chong the dog. Not wanting to give too much away, I will say that if you are fond of little puppies then this may not be the film for you. Dog lovers beware…
The food is incredibly well filmed, but it all leaves a bad taste in your mouth and by the time the final meal is served most people will have lost their appetite. It’s an interesting study of two women trying to cope with their broken relationships with parents or lovers, but the director is brutal in his attempts to show the pain they suffer from.
Unfortunately the dvd looks like it has been transferred from vhs, so much of Park Chul-soo’s stylish cinematography looks a bit blurry and old. Give this a go if you are passionate about food and our relationships to it, but make sure your stomach has settled before you begin.
