Me and Me (2020)

Don't go into this wild mystery expecting any answers. Drop your preconceptions entirely.

If you've read the synopsis, you'll go into this movie expecting a supernatural drama or mystery thriller. It's both and neither of these things.

This film subverts all expectations of what you think it's going to be. Right from start, the film makes the viewers question what's going on. And it doesn't stop.

While watching this movie I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery elements. Trying to guess who, how, why... will be both fun and futile. There are times when the story drops you a hint and you think it's going to lead somewhere, but ultimately it's another twist to keep the tension up. As far as I understand it there isn't any deeper meaning behind the hints, and that's how the filmmaker intended it. There were so many red herrings and times when things almost came back full circle that in the end I thought I was the one going crazy. ?

The pace and cinematography suited the film, Jo Jin Woong and cast do a good job, and I especially enjoyed the music score. It's hard to make a score coherent when the genre of the film itself keeps changing, but they pull it off in this film.

I wasn't bored at all during the film, because this film genuinely surprised me with its twists (and that's not easy), but if you're someone who likes clear answers, best to avoid this story. In order to enjoy this movie I'd suggest you throw expectation out the window and just enjoy it like the confusing rollercoaster it is. Think of this film as watching someone else's dream, and just go along for the ride.

Like a dream, the film ends abruptly. Like this review.

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Lost time

I just love the place this assured directorial debut and small independent film takes me.

The original title, "Lost Time", conveys a lot of it: The confusion of waking up unsure where or what or who you are, weighed down by memories, an indescribable feeling of loss, the heaviness and fragility of life, identity, choices and their consequences, change and inertia, alienation and doubt, metaphysical ambiguity and existential angst.

All this is handled in a diligent yet lighthearted manner (although I wouldn't exactly call it a black comedy as it is described here and there). The mind-bending script is clever not for its own sake but actually clever and full of substance. Great acting, soundtrack, pacing, atmosphere.

You have to live for a long time to be understood for a moment. And this is maybe all you can ask for.

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