“Cobweb” Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Jee-Woon
Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Lim Soo-jung, Oh Jung-Se, Jeon Yeo-Bin, Krystal Jung, Jung Woo-sung
Running Time: 135 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Back in the 2000’s the Korean film industry was going through a creative renaissance, so much so that its popularity overseas coined the term the ‘Korean Wave’, referencing that particular period of the countries cinematic output. Back then there were a trio of directors at the forefront of the movement – Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, and Kim Jee-woon. Everyone had their personal favorite, and for me it was the work of Jee-woon. A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, and I Saw the Devil remain on my frequent re-watch roster even today, offering up a certain visceral quality that seemingly few directors could match.
Inevitably, the trio eventually tried their hand in Hollywood, ironically releasing their first English language productions all in 2013. While Joon-ho and Chan-wook maintained their distinctive style and themes with the release of Snowpiercer and Stoker respectively, Jee-woon released what can best be described as a big budget action B-movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Johnny Knoxville. The Last Stand was far from the worst movie to ever grace the screen, but many fans struggled to reconcile the fact that this was Jee-woon’s follow up to 2010’s I Saw the Devil, myself included. For the remainder of the 2010’s he’d only direct a couple more feature length productions, with 2016’s underrated The Age of Shadows, and 2018’s poorly received Illang: The Wolf Brigade.
In the 5 years since Jee-woon has helmed a couple of short films, with his most ambitious piece of work being the 6-episode sci-fi thriller Dr. Brain from 2021 (made for the Apple TV+ streaming service), so to see him return to feature length production in 2023 is a welcome prospect. Far from continuing the trend of big budget action blockbusters that he’d become known for since 2008’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird, for his latest Jee-woon scales things back considerably. Returning to the comedy genre for the first time since his debut with 1998’s The Quiet Family and sophomore feature The Foul King in 2000, Cobweb presents the opportunity to see Jee-woon back in the genre that he first made a name for himself in.
Also returning is his frequent collaborator and leading man Song Kang-ho. As an actor Kang-ho has worked with all three of the big directors of the 2000’s, but none more so than he has with Jee-woon. Together the pair have collaborated on The Quiet Family, The Foul King, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, The Age of Shadows, and now Cobweb, marking their fifth time together as director and leading man. In their latest Kang-ho plays a director in the early 70’s who once showed great promise with his debut, but since has been repeatedly labelled as a trashy filmmaker only capable of making racy dramas. His latest melodrama is already in the bag, however when he has a fever dream (probably induced by his frequent pill popping) involving a different ending than the one that’s already filmed, he insists it needs to be re-shot, convinced the reshoot will make it a masterpiece.
Insistent that he only needs 2 days to film the new scenes, what follows is a frantic 135 minutes as he ropes the cast back together amidst their conflicting schedules (and conflicts amongst themselves), attempts to avoid the government censors who’ve already rejected the completed version, and keep the filming a secret from the studio head. The setup may sound like a full-on farce similar to the likes of Bowfinger and One Cut of the Dead, and while in part it is, the feeling that Cobweb is Jee-woon’s homage to the era of 1970’s Korean cinema comes through far stronger. Just how successfully he does this is arguably his latest’s biggest strength, while also being the factor that’s most likely to alienate viewers only acquainted with the post-1990 world of Korean cinema.
The result is essentially a chamber piece, with the entire narrative taking place within the film studio and revolving around the cast and crew, making for a decidedly intimate affair when compared to the epic scale we’ve become used to from a Kim Jee-woon production. This isn’t necessarily a negative, as it allows the actors performances to really carry the narrative, and Jee-woon has brought together an ensemble of both frequent collaborators and those he’s working with for the first time. The motley cast of Kang-ho’s alleged masterpiece includes adulterous leading man Oh Jung-se (Seoul Vibe, The Call), stern leading lady Lim Soo-jung (…ing, Mothers), secretly pregnant starlet Jung Soo-jung (Hear My Song, Woman, Man), and weary veteran Park Jung-soo (Take Off, Seventeen).
In typically meta-style the name of the movie Kang-ho wants to reshoot is Cobweb, and Jee-woon playfully uses the movie within a movie approach, sharing with the audience the filmed in black and white scenes that are re-shot as they’re completed. Apart from knowing that Kang-ho wants to re-film the finale as a continuous shot, as an audience we’re kept in the dark when it comes to the extent of just how much needs to be changed, and what exactly it is about the new scenes which has him convinced they’ll create a cinematic masterpiece. The relationship between the events based in ‘reality’ and the film they’re making is effectively handled, with the actors baffled as to why they’re filming such changes, contrasted against the supportive heiress of the production company, who’s similarly convinced the changes will break new cinematic ground.
However it’s not only Kang-ho’s movie that’s filmed in the 70’s style, as even the scenes with the cast and crew feel like they harken back to the era when the likes of Kim Ki-young, Lee Man-hee (who gets namechecked in the movie itself) and Shin Sang-ok ruled supreme at the box office. From Sang-ho’s intentionally stilted narration, to the melodramatic relationships between the characters, including the obligatory scandalous affair. Of particular note is the aspect of censorship affecting the production, which was particularly prominent in the 70’s under dictator Park Jung-hee, banning anything that could be seen as portraying the government in a negative light. The scenario is played for comedic effect when the production is paid a surprise visit by a government officer, resulting in the expected chaos as they pry him with whisky, all in a desperate attempt to convince him they’re making an anti-communist masterpiece.
Special mention goes to Jung Woo-sung (who worked with Jee-woon on both The Good, The Bad, The Weird and Illang: The Wolf Brigade), who clocks in an entertaining cameo as the director Kang-ho previously worked with, but tragically died in a fire while shooting his final movie. Given the opportunity to go a little wild with his performance, Woo-sung makes the most of his short screentime as a ghostly visitor to one of Kang-ho’s dreams, enthusiastically espousing the virtues of filmmaking to cheer on the downtrodden Kang-ho. An intriguing side plot is directly related to Woo-sung’s character, in that Kang-ho has spent most of his career trying to convince his fellow filmmakers that his successful debut was from his own script, and not one left behind after his mentor passed away. It’d be a spoiler to go into if he’s finally able to overcome the feeling of being looked down on by his peers, but the plot gets a worthwhile arc.
Still, there’s no denying that at 135 minutes Cobweb runs far too long for a comedy, and those not attuned or familiar to the era it’s paying homage to may well find the style and broad performances overly excessive in a way that makes it difficult to connect with. Indeed in many ways, with Cobweb Jee-woon has made the most uniquely Korean movie of his career, effectively creating a piece that feels like it’s of another era. As a comedy, its hit to miss ratio is probably around 50/50, but as a cinematic love letter to a bygone era of Korea filmmaking, Cobweb delivers a welcome dose of nostalgia from a director who, just like Song Kang-ho’s character in the movie itself, certainly shouldn’t be written off just yet.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10
