[비즈한국] It is neither flashy nor spectacular. The subject of youthful love stories might seem cliché. But once you start watching, you cannot look away. It is an extremely small and ordinary feeling, yet one so precious that you never want to lose it. This is the story of the Netflix film ‘Pavane’.
Gyeong-rok (Moon Sang-min), who starts working part-time at a department store parking lot, meets his senior, Yo-han (Byun Yo-han), and Mi-jeong (Go Ah-sung), who works in the department store's basement warehouse. All three characters have their own lack and wounds. Gyeong-rok has a father who abandoned him and his mother to succeed as an actor despite having a handsome appearance; Mi-jeong grew up being teased and scorned for her looks since she was young, making her comfortable only when she is alone; and Yo-han is a free spirit with a mix of sass and wit, yet carries pain from his family history. Gyeong-rok, who notices Mi-jeong hiding in the darkness of the basement warehouse while others call her a 'dinosaur', begins to feel compassion for her, and that compassion turns into affection, and eventually into love. Yo-han, who initially tries to stop Gyeong-rok's seemingly impulsive advances, soon becomes the connection between the two. However, just as no relationship can last forever, their relationship also undergoes changes.
‘Pavane’ is based on the 2009 novel 'Pavane for a Dead Princess' by Park Min-gyu. As the original work is set in the 1980s, director Lee Jong-pil added various settings during the adaptation. First, the characters who were nameless in the original were given names, Gyeong-rok and Mi-jeong, and the novelist dream of the male protagonist in the original was transferred to Yo-han. More impressive than the minor adaptations is the delicate direction, which may not be as dramatic as the love and friendship of Gyeong-rok, Mi-jeong, and Yo-han, but is nonetheless refined. In particular, it calmly adjusts the emotional temperature by emphasizing light and darkness to unfold the characters and their feelings. Director Lee Jong-pil, who demonstrated his ability through ‘Samjin Company English Class’, ‘Escape’, and the drama ‘One Day Off’, provides a deep lingering impression in ‘Pavane’ by letting emotions permeate rather than explaining them.
The strong performances and synergy of Go Ah-sung, Moon Sang-min, and Byun Yo-han are also strengths of this movie. Go Ah-sung calmly expresses the solid wounds of Mi-jeong, who was hiding in deep darkness, and Moon Sang-min, who embodies Gyeong-rok's freshness and clumsiness as he moves from considerate kindness to love, proves why he is a trendy young actor these days. Byun Yo-han, who radiates a popping charm in situations where the rhythm might drag due to the dense but slow-moving emotions, is truly outstanding. He acts as the narrator, replacing the male lead from the original work, and adds vitality to the play. Although the three leads appear primarily, there are supporting characters who are brief but eye-catching. The presence of Park Hae-joon and Lee Bong-ryeon, who play Gyeong-rok’s parents and open the film with a strong impression, makes one wish for a short spin-off of their narrative. The faces of Lee Yi-dam, who left a strong presence in ‘Can This Love Be Interpreted?’ and ‘Lady Dua’, and Shin Jung-geun, who appears as the owner of Kentucky Hope and talks to the lonely Yo-han, also remain in memory.
Above all, the multitude of emotions that viewers feel while watching this film might be its greatest strength. While it starts as a 'story of a man who loved an unattractive woman', the focus is not on 'unattractive' but on 'love', specifically, the love of youth. In their early 20s, youths who have closed their hearts due to their own lack are clumsy in both love and life. Yo-han, who gives plenty of advice to Gyeong-rok like a life mentor, is no different. Those clumsy trial and errors are something we have all experienced. There must be many such relationships that we have lost or let go. As the recent film ‘How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’, which gathered over 2.5 million viewers in theaters, succeeded by touching on such emotions, ‘Pavane’ is also expected to receive a good response as a universal sentiment that can appeal to everyone.
‘Pavane’ will be released on Netflix on February 20th. The running time is 113 minutes. It begins with the audacious declaration that ‘all love is a misunderstanding’, but like the film’s slogan, ‘for you who must love someone’, it provides an opportunity to reflect on love and life, making it worth investing your time.
Who is writer Jung Soo-jin?
She has worked at various magazines, covering and writing about movies, travel, and popular culture. She does not want to fall behind trends, but has become an 'old soul' who watches the latest dramas only to predict the next cliché scene. She is drifting through the vast world of OTT, trying to regain her lost senses, and her current wish is for an integrated OTT subscription plan.