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TAKE
CARE OF MY CAT (2001)
Reviewed
by Hannah Lin
'Take
Care Of My Cat' is a 'coming of age' drama from Korea which
avoids nearly every cliché the genre has to offer. Sparkling
bright performances from it's three leads and a director who
really does seem to care about the material help make this a
great alternative to the many romantic comedy films Korea
regularly drops onto our cosy little door mat.
Korean
directors seem to handle complex female characters well. While
often over the top and a touch unrealistic, as in 'My
Sassy Girl', there are still moments of beautiful reality.
Things you can genuinely relate to. 'Take Care Of My Cat' and
it's director Jeong Jae Eun takes this entire ideal one-step
further.
The
film revolves around five central characters. Having been good
friends in high school they are now readying themselves to
take their respective places out in the big wide world. In
many ways, this threatens to drive a wedge between them
forever. Tae Hee (Bae Doo Na) regulates her time between
working unpaid for her father's business and trying to keep
the group of friends together. Down to earth but full of hope,
she has her sights on doing something a little different and
at one point turns up at the local sailors bar and asks how
she can get on board a ship. Hae Joo (Lee Yo Won) moves
straight into an office job. Though little more than a
glorified tea lady, spending money like it's unlimited and
acting as if many of the group are below her seems to be her
only goal in life. Ji Young (Ok Ji Young) is perhaps the
outcast of the group. Living with her grandparents in a run
down apartment, she finds solace in her talent for art but
embarrassment in her constant money borrowing from Tae Hee.
Lastly, identical twins Ohnjo and Biryu (Eun Shil and Eun Lee)
seem quite content to let nothing change. Their gentle
character contrasts starkly with the rest of the group.
Director/Writer
Jeong Jae Eun gets her story across with beautiful simplicity.
The actresses she has employed each give inspired performances
and though the movie almost seems unscripted, it never
meanders. Characters act and react in a way that seems real.
You occasionally feel like you're watching a documentary on
young women in contemporary Korea. It never becomes dull
though. Utilising computer graphics to display each of the
girls' mobile text messages onto nearby surfaces, is just one
of the neat visual tricks. The use of the 'cat' of the title
is also clever. After finding it alone in the street, Ji Young
decides to give it to Hae Joo as a birthday gift.
Responsibility however is not something she needs and so she
returns it. The cat is eventually passed around the group.
Finding it's way to each of the five friends. It gives us a
chance to spend equal time with each character and also works
as a clever metaphor. The combination of lovely cinematography
and interesting music really helps you feel what it would be
like to be living Seoul's port city 'Inchon' and for me the
entire film evoked a feeling similar to Wong Kar Wai's 'Chungking
Express', with themes of loneliness and isolation peeking
out at every turn.
I
mentioned before that this film avoids many of the clichés
this genre is notorious for. Along with this comes the absence
of something I feel too many films focus on - sex. No part of
this story involves boyfriends or sex. The five young women in
this group have far too many things to work out in their lives
to be wasting time talking about sex or chasing guys. 'Take
Care Of My Cat' is all the better for that. If it's silly
hi-jinks or crude comedy you are after then this may not be
for you. That's fine, there is always '100 Days With Mr.
Arrogant'. If you want to see simple but effective story
telling, characters you could easily bump into in the street
and three of Korea's best young actresses then just 'Take Care
Of My Cat' for a few hours.
Rating:
 
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