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Love & Violence
Classroom politics and corporal punishment meet the blossom of young love in Once Upon a Time in High School, screening as part of the Korean Film Festival 2005. CALEB STARRENBURG writes.
The Spirit Jeet Keun Do: Once Upon A Time In High School opens with an excerpt from Bruce Lee's manuscript Way of Jeet Kune Do: "Jeet Kune Do doesn't teach you to look back, but to go forward once the path is set."
This passage is the film's only significant, albeit tenuous, relationship to the spirit of Bruce Lee. Yet, despite the contrived title, The Spirit Jeet Keun Do: Once Upon a Time in High School(1) is a delightfully bittersweet tale of unrequited love, and violent adolescent awakening.
Directed by Yoo Ha (Marriage is a Crazy Thing) Once Upon A Time In High School (Korean title: Maljukgeori Janhoksa) is set in 1978, against the backdrop of a repressive military regime and an authoritarian school system. The film examines a love triangle between Jeong Mun High students; the painfully shy Hyun-soo (Kwon Sang-woo), the charismatic Woo-sik (Lee Jung-jin), and Olivia Hussey look alike Eun-ju (Han Ka-in).
The students' love triangle is played out amidst cruel classroom politics, severe corporal punishment and extreme hegemony. Unlike the sublime, but fanciful Volcano High, Once Upon a Time seeks to provide a realistic depiction of school violence (although Yoo Ha is always careful to temper graphic depictions of hostility with humour).
The theme of school brutality and classroom romance is not unique within Korean cinema, having been investigated in Beat and My Boss, My Hero. Like those films, Once Upon a Time in High School features the pursuit of personal freedom and questioning of authority, typical of the genre. However, it is the interaction between Once Upon a Time's characters (played admirably by a talented cast of young Korean actors), which sets this film apart. There is Hamburger, who sells smut to pay his tuition; the privileged student whose father is a high-ranking military officer, and Woo-sik, whose mother is a semi-famous actress, much to his shame.
Kwon Sang-woo (Volcano High) is convincing in his role as Hyun-soo, the introverted teenager who must learn to fight for what he believes in. However, the perturbed relationship between Hyun-soo and his demanding father, hinted upon in the film, is frustratingly underplayed.
Although visually proficient, Once Upon A Time In High School suffers from pacing issues, particularly during the film's middle stanza. Yet, despite its flaws, writer-turned-director Yoo Ha has succeeded in the difficult task of creating an entertaining film, which serves both as a social commentary, and a violent high school romance.
See also:
» My Sassy Girl
» Taegukgi
» K-Shorts: Failan, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Untold Scandal
The Spirit Jeet Keun Do: Once Upon A Time In High School opens with an excerpt from Bruce Lee's manuscript Way of Jeet Kune Do: "Jeet Kune Do doesn't teach you to look back, but to go forward once the path is set."
This passage is the film's only significant, albeit tenuous, relationship to the spirit of Bruce Lee. Yet, despite the contrived title, The Spirit Jeet Keun Do: Once Upon a Time in High School(1) is a delightfully bittersweet tale of unrequited love, and violent adolescent awakening.
Directed by Yoo Ha (Marriage is a Crazy Thing) Once Upon A Time In High School (Korean title: Maljukgeori Janhoksa) is set in 1978, against the backdrop of a repressive military regime and an authoritarian school system. The film examines a love triangle between Jeong Mun High students; the painfully shy Hyun-soo (Kwon Sang-woo), the charismatic Woo-sik (Lee Jung-jin), and Olivia Hussey look alike Eun-ju (Han Ka-in).
The students' love triangle is played out amidst cruel classroom politics, severe corporal punishment and extreme hegemony. Unlike the sublime, but fanciful Volcano High, Once Upon a Time seeks to provide a realistic depiction of school violence (although Yoo Ha is always careful to temper graphic depictions of hostility with humour).
The theme of school brutality and classroom romance is not unique within Korean cinema, having been investigated in Beat and My Boss, My Hero. Like those films, Once Upon a Time in High School features the pursuit of personal freedom and questioning of authority, typical of the genre. However, it is the interaction between Once Upon a Time's characters (played admirably by a talented cast of young Korean actors), which sets this film apart. There is Hamburger, who sells smut to pay his tuition; the privileged student whose father is a high-ranking military officer, and Woo-sik, whose mother is a semi-famous actress, much to his shame.
Kwon Sang-woo (Volcano High) is convincing in his role as Hyun-soo, the introverted teenager who must learn to fight for what he believes in. However, the perturbed relationship between Hyun-soo and his demanding father, hinted upon in the film, is frustratingly underplayed.
Although visually proficient, Once Upon A Time In High School suffers from pacing issues, particularly during the film's middle stanza. Yet, despite its flaws, writer-turned-director Yoo Ha has succeeded in the difficult task of creating an entertaining film, which serves both as a social commentary, and a violent high school romance.
See also:
» My Sassy Girl
» Taegukgi
» K-Shorts: Failan, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Untold Scandal
» The Spirit Jeet Keun Do: Once Upon a Time in High School
Yoo Ha | South Korea | 2004 | 116 min | Featuring: Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Jung-jin, Han Ka-in. In Korean with English subtitles.
(1) Note the film's international title intentionally spells Keun (Kune) incorrectly.
Once Upon a Time in High School screens as part of the inaugural Korean Film Festival 2004.
Yoo Ha | South Korea | 2004 | 116 min | Featuring: Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Jung-jin, Han Ka-in. In Korean with English subtitles.
(1) Note the film's international title intentionally spells Keun (Kune) incorrectly.
Once Upon a Time in High School screens as part of the inaugural Korean Film Festival 2004.
