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The City In The Water review [LKFF 2015]: “A dull, uninspired film that does absolutely nothing of note.”

The City In The Water review: Like the world’s worst teachers it has all the resources and a fascinating subject, but has no idea on how to deliver the material.

The City In The Water review

The City In The Water review

For a documentary you take an interesting subject and present it in a way that should inform, educate, or provoke thought. The City In The Water tries a very different approach, by being a dull, uninspired film that does absolutely nothing of note. Sitting watching the film I found myself wanting to be somewhere else, anywhere else, and that is a very rare feeling for me to experience in the cinema.

The pitch is very interesting. A number of villages, towns, and cities were flooded between 1975 to 1985 to coincide with the building of the Chungju Dam. Residents were displaced, while some remained in the area. Kim Eung Su’s documentary takes the viewer on a tour boat of the area, and that’s about it. There is a distinct lack of input in this extremely bland chronicle of a very interesting subject.

The City In The Water review

The City In The Water review

It starts with a fisherman out on a boat, and his catch of the day works as a visual metaphor for removing things from their environment. The slow build up seems to be very deliberate and we wait with anticipation as to how this story will unfold, only to be devastated when it doesn’t. Once on the tour we hear old radio broadcasts, announcing their final time on the air, which again serves as a reminder to the finality of the events. But after that everything loses touch and interest.

The next 30 minutes are taken up with testimony from people who once resided in these villages, only we don’t get to see them. Instead their testimony is played out over footage of the lake as we journey across the water with landscapes on either side. 30 minutes of watching nothing but water may emphasise the fact that the water has swallowed these homes and people’s pasts, but it is also tedious and inane. The testimonies themselves don’t tell us much, and sometimes are infuriating. One man is clearly gesturing to his surroundings “The water came up to here,” and “If you look up there,” only for us to still be watching the water. If we could see these people their eyes, facial expressions, and body language would convey some kind of emotion. The fact the film is in Korean doesn’t help, as we are left reading subtitles over a shot of water, so if you like reading and watching water, maybe this film will appeal.

The City In The Water review

The City In The Water review

It doesn’t end there, with the next segment showing shots of a recreation home, showing what the homes once looked like. These are done as silent shots, which are no more informative than a photograph with no context. In fact, the best moments are the photographs from the past, but these are shown with no commentary or elaboration. The film climaxes with shots of rubble, presumably from old buildings, and once again nobody gives us any information, we just look at them in silence.

Like the world’s worst teachers, The City In The Water has all the resources and a fascinating subject, but has no idea on how to deliver the material. We don’t get any underwater shots of the villages, or receive an idea of what life was like, or even how these places were selected when it was decided the dam would be built. The story sounds as though it should be emotional and powerful, but it’s nothing but a real struggle. If you must watch it, stick it on in the background and merely revel in some of the breathtaking locales.

The City In The Water review by Luke Ryan Baldock, November, 2015.

The City In The Water screened at the London Korean Film Festival 2015 as part of their Documentary strand.

Luke likes many things, films and penguins being among them. He's loved films since the age of 9, when STARGATE and BATMAN FOREVER changed the landscape of modern cinema as we know it. His love of film extends to all aspects of his life, with trips abroad being planned around film locations and only buying products featured in Will Smith movies. His favourite films include SEVEN SAMURAI, PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, IN BRUGES, LONE STAR, GODZILLA, and a thousand others.

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  1. Pingback: LKFF 2015: the reviews | London Korean Links

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