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DECEMBER 2003 FILMS CHI-HWA-SEON: PAINTED FIRE Admiring CHI-HWA-SEON's lushness would be like admiring the fine weave of the pillowcase while the pillow being forced against your face cuts off your air; its prettiness doesn't matter a whit when your lungs scream for something real. Dreaming up an elephantine force director Im manages a cardboard elephant shitting out pellets of personality with diarrheaic regularity. CHI-HWA-SEON is what I feared a biographical film about an artist would be - a life divided into scenes, each scene showcasing a typical personality trait of The Important Artist. Scene showing antisocial tendencies? Yes. Arrogant behaviour? Check. Womanizing? Check. Prone to violent fits, drunk or not? Check, check. A rebel who'd risk his health for a walk in the rain or a sudden dip in the river. Check. Everyday our artist is tortured by stylistic change yet reassured by an everpresent chorus of educated heads testifying to the "vivacity" and "integrity" of his work. CHI-HWA-SEON may fill in a blank in Korean art history but the result is as convincing as Ben Affleck's acting versatility. [C-] | ||