"Daytime Drinking"

("Natsul" -- South Korea)

A Stonework Film production. (International sales: Fine Cut, Seoul.) Produced, directed, edited by Noh Young-seok.
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With: Song Sam-dong, Yuk Sang-yeob, Kim Gang-heui, Tak Seong-jun, Lee Ran-heui, Shin Un-seob, Lee Seung-yeon, Yun Sul-ahn.Though shot on HD for a risible $10,000, "Daytime Drinking" is proof that a good script and simpatico direction and performances can overcome budgetary restrictions. Ultra-Korean tale, anchored by the social courtesies of soju consumption, is a mildly black comedy of escalating misadventures that should speak to fest auds worldwide, as well as to specialist cable viewers. Shot and composed like a regular movie, first pic by multihyphenate Noh Young-seok would also benefit from being transferred to 35mm to escape the digital ghetto (and all the preconceptions that implies).

Pic starts in Seoul one winter with four college friends boozing after one, Hyeok-jin (Song Sam-dong), has been ditched by his g.f. In a soju haze, they agree to take a trip the next day to the small town of Jeongseon, in neighboring Gangweon province, where one of the four, Gi-sang (Yuk Sang-yeob), has an older college pal who runs a boarding house.

Alas, when Hyeok-jin arrives there by bus, he finds the other three so hung over they've bailed on the idea, but Gi-sang gives Hyeok-jin directions by phone and says he'll join him later. However, when Hyeok-jin checks into the small hotel -- where the only other guests are a strange girl (Kim Gang-heui) and a guy (Tak Seong-jun) who may or may not be her b.f. -- he belatedly realizes he's gone to the wrong joint.

Thus begins a weird chain of coincidences that sees Hyeok-jin having everything but his underpants stolen and being befriended and abused by weird strangers. His determination to leave town is constantly undercut by conciliatory offers of drink and Gi-sang's telephoned promises that he'll join him soon.

Some of the movie's humor trades on the niceties of South Korea's drinking culture (which, unlike in the West, always involves food as well) and of accepting beverages out of politeness. But the pic is never about drinking itself, or its pernicious side effects. Noh's direction remains focused on the social conundrums in which the protag finds himself, whether he's insulted by a motormouth woman (Lee Ran-heui, also pic's a.d.) or, in one of the funniest sections, hooked up with a truck driver who just won't take no for an answer.

Humor reflects the grim, gray wintry locations, and has much fun with the locals' gruff social attitudes -- way different from those in Seoul, which seems light years away.

Well-constructed script has a satisfyingly complete dramatic arc, with a sense of repetition only entering in the final reels. Trimming of the latter stages would further sharpen the irony.

Casting and perfs are well calibrated, with Song drawing the hapless protag as a likable character without recourse to staggering around. Both Kim and Lee, as the two very different femmes, are also good.

Technical package looks just fine, with HD lensing accentuating the colorless, wintry palette.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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