301/302: A Film By Chul-Soo Park

Starring:Sin-Hye Hwang, Eun-jin Bang
Director: Cheol-su Park
Studio: KOCH LORBER FILMS
Product Type: DVD

Description

301 302 explores the mysterious disappearance of one of two young women who live across the hall from each other in a modern apartment complex in Seoul, Korea. The women, referred to by their apartment number, each share common yet dissimilar obsessions. Official Selection - Sundance Film Festival and Official Selection - Berlin International Film Festival.

Customer Reviews:

That is a lot of red meat.......2006-10-31

301/302 opens with an investigator visiting the residence of 301, a recently divorced woman who is a master chef, after the disappearance of 302 because she is the one who last saw the missing woman. Unperturbed, 301 invites the investigator to have some fried chicken which he states is the best he ever tasted. The film then goes into a series of flashbacks, showing when 301 moved into her apartment neighboring that of 302. A boisterous, talkative woman is a bit put off by the coldness of her neighbor who prefers to not utter a single word than to accept 301's greetings. However, 302's coldness, and her slender figure, entices 301 to get to know her better, so she cooks 302 a mouthwatering meal. Yet, after 301 departs, 302 tosses the food into the fridge and hurries to the restroom to vomit as if the mere sight of food makes her sick. 301 continues to bring 302 food and each dish ends up in the garbage. After discovering this, 301 tries to force 302 to eat the food, but 302 explains that she cannot eat that her body rejects the food. She also cannot engage in sex because of similar reasons. She states that she has a great filth inside of her that does not allow her to enjoy food or sex and she wishes her body would disintegrate.

After learning this, 301 continues to make more food, foods that she terms to be tender, but no matter how well prepared 302 cannot eat the food and always vomits it all up. After awhile the viewer finally learns 302's dark past. However, she is not the only one with a dark past. Why is 301 so insistent that 302 eats her food? It seems that 302 is not the only one with issues.

The two main themes of 301/302 are food and sexuality. 302 is unable to enjoy or indulge in food or sex while 301 is fond of both. However, because of her rocky marriage and later her divorce she is unable to engage in a fulfilling sexual life so she indulges in food instead. Yet she is not just overeating, she is literally engorging herself with food gaining more than half her bodyweight. 302, on the other hand, is wasting away because of her fears associated with food and sex. A complex, dark film, 301/302 is quite a thought provoking film, but one that should definitely not be watched after enjoying a big meal.

A steeped, thick thriller!.......2006-05-13

301/302 begins as a Coloumbo-esque detective knocks on a lovely woman's door. Why is he there? Because the woman in Apartment 301 was, presumably, the last person to see her neighbor alive. He asks several questions about who her neighbor, in Apartment 302, is and how she, "301", came to know "302". Naturally, as a new resident of the building, she doesn't really know anyone in the building at all. Naturally.

The woman in Apartment 302 is sort of a recluse, in a sense. She goes about her business, but seems, for all intensive purposes, to prefer the confines of her home. "302" is a lithe, almost gaunt, creature in her mid-30's who writes for a living. "301" (Eun-jin Bang) has only just moved into the space across the hall from "302" and immediately began renovating the smallish apartment to suit her immense love of cooking. Much to the chagrin of "302", who get to put up with the noise of reconstruction. Soon after, "301" invites herself into her new neighbor's apartment to become friend's and to share with her some fine cooking. "301" becomes tremendously adventurous with her cooking when she realizes that "302" (Sin-Hye Hwang) refuses even the simplest of dishes, and flat out refuses to eat dishes containing meat. "301" figures she can help her neighbor out with that. She disguises meals in order to trick "302" into eating some pretty exotic stuff, but only after some brief unpleasantness. Both woman soon become freindly with one another and quickly feel compelled to share stories of brutal childhoods and passionless marriages.

And "301" also speculates (while talking with the detective as they both browse around "302"'s apartment) that "302" is sexually repressed because she won't enjoy the great food she cooks and brings her. This is mainly because "301" admittedly places her passion for the culinary arts and her carnal passions in the same category; which she does consciously and is partly the reason she is where she is. "302" dismisses that, but goes on to tell her story of a traumatic childhood that may shed light on the problem "301" desperately wants to remedy using food.

301/302 isn't exactly a thriller, as billed. Made in 1994/5/6 (depending on where you look for info on the film), it probably shocked it's share of viewers. There are a few pretty graphic sex scenes (some tasteful; some not) and some brilliantly shot cooking scenes. The camera gets right in the pots and pans, blenders and colanders. It also gets mighty close to the people's mouths, at a few points, to graphically illustrate "301"'s succulent eats being enjoyed. A major theme I came away with was that a woman (like "301", for instance) shouldn't be taken for granted. Part of "301"'s story, as told to "302" through several well done flashback sequences, is how the life and passions of her marriage were wasted on an ungrateful, selfish husband. But that's not all of her story. The middle third is. almost exclusively. a brilliant and moving account of "301"'s trials and tribulations that surround her cooking; along how it mirrors and, at times, commands her life.

Along with all of this, there's humor (albeit black) sprinkled in to set up the movie's touted ending; which some may see coming fairly early. That shouldn't take away from a well written film. I suspect 301/302 is a hidden gem that many have either overlooked or have never came across. I highly recommend it, in any case.

BOY, I WISH I HAD A WIFE LIKE 301!!.......2006-04-14

THIS KOREAN MASTERPIECE DEPICTS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO LADIES, THAT EVOLVES FROM ANTAGONISTIC TO HARMONIOUS, ONCE THEY HAVE EXPOSED THEIR PAST RELATIONSHIPS TO EACH OTHER.
THE OUTCOME OF THE STORY IS UNEXPECTED, NEVERTHELESS, SENSIBLE AND REALISTIC!
I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU THE MOVIE, YOU WOULD HAVE TO SEE IT YOURSELF TO UNDERSTAND THE TITLE TO THIS REVIEW!!
THIS FILM AND "WHY HAS BODHI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST", ARE TWO OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WORKS OF ART IN KOREAN CINEMA!!

Twist within a Twist - SPOILER WARNING.......2005-04-22

--- SPOILER WARNING ---

Stop reading right now if you haven't seen this movie yet. Come back and read this once you've seen it. For everyone else:

--- SPOILER WARNING ---

This movie is brilliant. I needn't go into too many specifics, but I feel it incumbent on myself to make a few brief comments here that may change your impression of this movie in case you missed something. Yes, there is a twist ending, but in my experience so far, many people only see the obvious element of this twist. At the end of the movie, you know what happens between these two women. Now, scrap that sentence and try it this way: At the end of the movie, you should know what happens with *this woman*. 301 and 302 are the same woman. The relationship between the two women is a metaphor for the internal conflict between two disparate personalities of one woman. The film is littered with clues that suggest this, but it's still never forced down our throats. It's one of the most well-hidden twists I've ever seen. We see the wall between apartments 301 and 302 get torn down near the beginning. We see 301 sporting a look that's a hybrid of 301 and 302 (short hair, no glasses) at the end (one reviewer here was so close... it's not a hole in the plot, it's a key plot element!). There are more clues. If you missed the twist within the twist, you should consider giving 301/302 another shot. You might be pleasantly surprised.

A Meal Not Quite Fit For a King.......2005-03-11

A thin but attractive writer has suddenly gone missing and the only suspect appears to be her comely neighbor in Cheol-su Park's "301/302."

The central fascination of "301/302" deals with two decidedly different women - one an extrovert, one an introvert - whose lives have been corrupted by food: the chef (Apt. 301) based most of her husband's affections and later her own inadequacies of providing exceptional meals while the anorexic writer (Apt. 302) can't shed the memories of her sexually abusive father - who worked as a butcher - and refuses to eat as a consequence. Now divorced, 301 meets 302 and transfers her love to her new neighbor, trying against all odds to get the thin, pale woman to eat her meals.

The film has several plot inconsistencies that are never cleared up. 302 appears to have virtually no contact with anyone except for the occasional telephone call from a mysterious editor/writer/friend, but yet the very morning after her disappearance the police have gone looking for her. An unnamed building resident last witnessed 302 going into 301's apartment, but the hallways are always empty and void of other people. Then, in the film's final moments, it becomes clear that 301 has adopted some of 302's physical appearance, cutting her hair to match that of the thin writer; given her desire to eat and eat and eat, why would she suddenly choose to adopt the looks of one who abhorred eating?

However, in the broader recipe, these points aren't significant. What matters most is the relationship these two women have with one another and their past lives. Their respective histories are told in effective if not alarming flashbacks, and, despite their differences, it becomes thematically clear why they would be inevitably drawn to one another in the unique environment created by the filmmaker. The viewer can see the conclusion coming, but, like preparing a good meal, it's really more about eating than it is the cooking.

It's an odd relationship, but - if not predictably - these two women are destined to be together. Only 301 can fix 302's problems ... with a solution that isn't exactly a five-star dessert.

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