The Fools Manifesto

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Movie
German title The Fools Manifesto
Original title Babo Seoneon ( 바보 선언 )
Country of production South Korea
original language Korean
Publishing year 1983
length 87 minutes
Rod
Director Lee Jang-ho
script Yoon Si-mon
production Chong-chan Park
music Lee Jong-ku
camera Suh Jung-min
cut Kim Hee-su
occupation

The Manifesto of Fools (original title: Babo Seoneon , after McCune-Reischauer Pabo Sŏnŏn ) is a film by the South Korean director Lee Jang-ho from 1983. It is the successor to the film Children of Darkness (1981). Both films are based on a novel by Lee Chol-yong (pseudonym: Lee Dong-cheol) published in 1979, the title of which can be translated as "The Sons of Darkness" ( 어둠 의 자식 들 Eodum-ui Jasik-deul ).

action

Dong-cheol is a limp-legged drifter. He likes to watch pretty women and uses a mirror to look under his skirt. One day he sees a young woman whom he immediately falls in love with. He thinks he's a student and follows her everywhere to make her acquaintance. He decides to kidnap her and hires the taxi driver Yukdeok. During the kidnapping, he not only knocks her out, but also accidentally knocks himself out. He has a dream of marrying her and doing everything for him. The young woman, whose name is Hye-yong, on the other hand, dreams of meeting a wealthy man and leading a peaceful family life with children.

When Hye-yong wakes up, she beats Dong-cheol and Yukdeok together. It also turns out that Hye-yong is a prostitute. Yukdeok and Dong-cheol drive them back to their apartment. Yukdeok's taxi is stolen, which doesn't even belong to him. His life is no longer meaningful and he swears allegiance to Dong-cheol. Finally they try to help Hye-yong with her work in order to get some money of their own. But one day they want to help a young woman who has just come to Seoul and has been forced into prostitution. However, they get caught and kicked out.

Hye-yong, Dong-cheol and Yukdeok then turn into a beach to relax a bit, financed by Hye-yong's savings. They have fun together, but eventually run out of money. Dong-cheol and Yukdeok are supposed to search for Baron Hye-yong so that she can earn money. But both refuse and somehow want to earn money themselves. They commit various stupid things while Hye-yong meets a rich man. Hye-yong goes with the man, which breaks Dong-cheol's heart.

The film ends with a party on a luxurious estate. Hye-yong is invited there as a guest while Dong-cheol and Yukdeok work there. The people there don't see Hye-yong as an equal. They attack her body until Hye-yong ultimately dies. Dong-cheol and Yukdeok start beating the men together. Finally, they bury Hye-yong.

Narrative style

The film is partly silent and is then told by a young child. Dong-cheol always calls this Ttongchil , which means something like "greasy shit" and is also used as an expression like the word "shame". The boy also gives him the suffix "fool" / "idiot". Yukdeok means "fat" and can be translated as "fat".

reception

In the information sheet of the Arsenal film institute you can read that the film "bitterly criticizes the absurdities and contradictions of society". Dong-cheol and Hye-yong dream of social success. By following the characters, however, the corruption and lust for pleasure of the rich and the “twisted consciousness of the poor” are exposed. The form of the film is completely new and does not require any linear plot or conventional dialogues. The composition of the image may seem illogical and erratic, but by doing without everything that is traditional, the film tries to create a new society. The lexicon of international film sums up that the film captivates “with the montage and fascinating pictorial metaphors”, “in which the search of the Korean people for a religious and cultural identity is reflected, the remains of which come to light again and again despite centuries of external control”. The film offers a contrast between traditional and modern stylistic elements and offers a sarcastic description of current affairs. Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho recommends The Fools' Manifesto as one of seven films on the Korean Film Archive's YouTube channel , where numerous older Korean films are freely accessible.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arsenal : 2 Films by Lee Chang-ho , 1988, Database ID: 1743 .
  2. ↑ Manifesto of Fools. In: Lexicon of International Films . Retrieved June 28, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Bert Rebhandl : How about if there weren't any new films? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . May 21, 2020, accessed June 28, 2020 .