The whole time I was watching this movie, I kept saying to myself, “this feels like Murakami.” It had the mystic conversations in a low-lit diner, and the presence of mysterious cats, and the quiet male protagonist captivated by a free spirited yet complicated girl – all staples of Haruki Murakami’s fiction. It had that feeling of this supernatural world hiding beneath the surface of dull reality.
I’m glad I didn’t know that this was based on a Murakami story when I started watching it. He’s one of my favorite writers – the type of author I track for every new release (even if the quality has slightly diminished recently). So having the experience of thinking this felt like a Murakami story, and then finding out that my suspicions were correct, was very gratifying. It reinforces the power of his style and his narrative themes. This is a bit different than many of his books. It’s a bit more straightforward. And that’s one thing (of many) that I really like about it.
The film is a slow burn (pun entirely intended). But I felt pretty immediately captivated by the relationship between protagonist Jong-su and Hae-mi, and particularly the mysteriousness that Jeon Jong-seo brings to her portrayal of Hae-mi, the aloof but mesmerizing young woman who pulls Jong-su into her fractured, spontaneous world. By the time Hae-mi brings Ben (played by Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun) into the equation, it feels like a betrayal. And that solidifies our connection to Jong-su. This is his story, even though it seems like he would sometimes rather blend into the background of life. And we view this world, and the shifting dynamics between himself and others, through his perspective.
This is yet another film that has lingering effects. I keep thinking about it in the quiet spaces between activities and thoughts. I keep thinking about Hae-mi, and I keep feeling like Jong-su.