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Off-Topic Discussion / DTL Encyclopedia
« on: May 23, 2023, 12:03:45 PM »
binoculars - A tool for seeing, essential for surveillance. Also a medium through which to film.
Busan - Large coastal metropolis where the first half of DTL takes place. The hero works there during the week and goes home to his wife on the weekends. In order to live with his wife full time, he takes the decision to leave and gets reassigned to Ipo, where the second half of the film occurs.
cellphone conversations - they add an extra layer of texture to the film's sound design.
chainmail glove - very handy when fighting a man with a knife. Hae-joon has one.
CHUNG Seo-kyung - co-writer of DTL. She has co-written all of Park's films since Lady Vengeance (2005).
cigarettes - The heroine smokes; the hero gave it up. Still, the activity allows them to bond.
crow feathers - The hero, on stakeout, discovers a crow that a stray cat (being fed by Soe-rae) has killed. The detective hides when Soe-rae approaches; she too finds the dead bird, and then buries it. Ever after, crow feathers turn up near Hae-joon (on his desk, as a bookmark, etc.)
Confucius - according to this ancient sage, some folks are mountain people, some people favor the sea. Throughout the film, sea and mountain images abound. It would seem that Hae-joon is associated with high places (he chases one suspect uphill; another he corners on a roof), and Song Soe-rae is a water being. But there is some ambiguity here, as Song Soe-rae also identifies with a Korean mountain (where she scatters the ash of her mother and grandfather). A striking image at the end of the film shows water from an incoming tide washing away a mound of sand.
cooking - Hae-joon is a good cook, and makes a point of preparing delicious, nutritious food for his women. His efforts are appreciated.
Decision to Leave - the title has obvious significance at the end of the film, but does it also somehow apply at other points in the story?
declaration of love - According to Song Soe-rae, Hae-joon once declared his love for her, but he doesn't remember having done so.
dress - In the second half of the film, Song Soe-rae wears a dress that some people think is blue, some think green, like the color of the ocean. Soe-rae finally burns it.
eyes - In a film that's so visually rich, it isn't unusual to focus attention on eyes. There is also of course a surveillance theme. Hae-joon is frequently shown putting drops in his eyes.
fentynal - Song Soe-rae's poison of choice.
Granny Hae-dong [Jung Young Sook] - Amusing senior who provides Jang Hae-joon with an important clue.
HONG San-o [Jeong Min PARK]- Murderer pursued by Jang Hae-joon. When cornered, he prefers to jump to his death rather than go back to prison. I guess he made his . . . decision to leave.
ice cream - Soe-rae's supper of choice.
Ipo - Korean riverside town where the sun never shines in the morning. Reported to be the inspiration for the song "Mist."
JANG Hae-joon [PARK Hae-il] - Homicide detective investigating the murder of Song Seo-rae's husband(s).
Jeong-ahn [LEE Jung-hyun] - Hae-joon's wife, who works at a nuclear reactor. After making her decision to leave she departs with a bag of pomegranate seeds and a turtle.
Ki Do-soo [Seung-mok YOO] - First husband of Song Seo-rae. He inscribed everything he owned with the initials "KDS." Jang begins to sympathize with Seo-rae when he discovers that those initials have been tattooed on her belly.
Martin Beck - The hero of a series of Swedish crime novels by the married writing team Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. There is a stack of these books in Jang Hae-joon's Busan apartment.
"Mist" - a song recorded by Yoon Jeong-hee in 1967, later covered by Song Chang-sik. For this film, the artists were brought together to perform the song as a duet, which plays under the final credits. Snippets from the original version of the song are heard twice in the film. The director has said the song was the inspiration for the film.
Mountains - Soe-rae's first husband dies falling off a mountain. We learn there is another mountain in Korea that holds a special significance for Soe-rae's family, and later Song Soe-rae goes there to spread the ashes of her grandfather and mother. Two violent confrontations occur on elevated structures. High places, in the film, are associated with death and violence. In archetypal thinking, mountains, because they are phallic, are associated with men.
nuclear reactor - Hae-joon's wife works at one. Such a place also provides the setting for a popular Korean TV show.
PARK Chan-wook - Director of DTL. His other films include Old Boy, Thirst, and The Handmaiden.
PARK Hae-il - The male star of DTL. He also played the principal suspect in Memories of Murder.
pomegranates - the red color suggests blood; in the scene where the detective and his wife cut open several in a large pile, the knife work puts us in mind of carnage.
repetition - a technique used throughout the film.
sand and surf - an image near the end of the film shows the incoming tide gradually wearing down a mound of sand.
Shima sushi - The meal shared by detective and suspect during their first interogation scene together. "Shima" means island.
silhouette - After "solving" her case, Hae-joon is encouraged by Song Soe-rae to destroy the pictures of her taken when she was under his surveillance. He fights to keep one although it is difficult to see because it's so dark. He argues that her silhouette is pretty, and he retains it. Later, at the beach, digital trickery will produce Soe-rae's silhouette in the tide as it breaks on shore.
Slappy [SEO Hyun-woo] - a goon who likes to hit women but who also venerates his mother. His mom was swindled by Song Soe-rae's second husband and as a result her health began to fail. Slappy promises that if the old woman dies, he will kill the one responsible. This piece of information is not lost on Song Seo-rae.
sleep - The hero has trouble sleeping. The heroine, who trained as a nurse, helps him fall asleep twice, once in his Busan apartment, and once in Ipo as they ride together in the back of a police car.
SONG Seo-rae [TANG Wei] - The mysterious heroine of DTL. Did she kill her first husband? What about her second? Anyone else? Does she love the hero? Why did she make her decision to leave?
Songgwangsa Temple, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do, South Korea - Budhist temple visited by the hero and heroine while they are falling in love.
spoilers - this encylopedia is full of 'em.
TANG Wei - The star of DTL, an actress who first achieved international recognition for her performance in Lust, Caution. Her other films include Late Autumn and Long Day's Journey Into Night. She's a real honey.
text messages - not merely a coneyer of information, now often an element of mise-en-scene, as it is here.
translations - Because Song Soe-rae is a Chinese immigrant, she often communicates in Mandarin. It is sometimes necessary to translate her language into Korean.
turtles - In Ipo, Hae-joon investigates the theft of the stock at a turtle farm.
TV - Clips from two Korean TV shows are shown, a historical drama and one about a nuclear reactor meltdown. Song Soe-rae takes her line "Am I so wicked?" from the first.
Vertigo - There are some similarities between DTL and Hitchcock's film. PCW insists he did not have Vertigo in mind when he made his film, but acknowledges that they have points in common. I don't see the resemblance myself.
VFX - DTL is replete with them.
waves - the waves at the end of the film are anticipated by the wallpaper in Soe-rae's apartment; the same pattern is also on her notebook.
wedding bands - Song Soe-rae notices the detective's ring during their first encounter. When Soe-rae returns to work after her husband's death, the detectives, who are keeping her under surveillance, notice she is no longer wearing her wedding band.
Busan - Large coastal metropolis where the first half of DTL takes place. The hero works there during the week and goes home to his wife on the weekends. In order to live with his wife full time, he takes the decision to leave and gets reassigned to Ipo, where the second half of the film occurs.
cellphone conversations - they add an extra layer of texture to the film's sound design.
chainmail glove - very handy when fighting a man with a knife. Hae-joon has one.
CHUNG Seo-kyung - co-writer of DTL. She has co-written all of Park's films since Lady Vengeance (2005).
cigarettes - The heroine smokes; the hero gave it up. Still, the activity allows them to bond.
crow feathers - The hero, on stakeout, discovers a crow that a stray cat (being fed by Soe-rae) has killed. The detective hides when Soe-rae approaches; she too finds the dead bird, and then buries it. Ever after, crow feathers turn up near Hae-joon (on his desk, as a bookmark, etc.)
Confucius - according to this ancient sage, some folks are mountain people, some people favor the sea. Throughout the film, sea and mountain images abound. It would seem that Hae-joon is associated with high places (he chases one suspect uphill; another he corners on a roof), and Song Soe-rae is a water being. But there is some ambiguity here, as Song Soe-rae also identifies with a Korean mountain (where she scatters the ash of her mother and grandfather). A striking image at the end of the film shows water from an incoming tide washing away a mound of sand.
cooking - Hae-joon is a good cook, and makes a point of preparing delicious, nutritious food for his women. His efforts are appreciated.
Decision to Leave - the title has obvious significance at the end of the film, but does it also somehow apply at other points in the story?
declaration of love - According to Song Soe-rae, Hae-joon once declared his love for her, but he doesn't remember having done so.
dress - In the second half of the film, Song Soe-rae wears a dress that some people think is blue, some think green, like the color of the ocean. Soe-rae finally burns it.
eyes - In a film that's so visually rich, it isn't unusual to focus attention on eyes. There is also of course a surveillance theme. Hae-joon is frequently shown putting drops in his eyes.
fentynal - Song Soe-rae's poison of choice.
Granny Hae-dong [Jung Young Sook] - Amusing senior who provides Jang Hae-joon with an important clue.
HONG San-o [Jeong Min PARK]- Murderer pursued by Jang Hae-joon. When cornered, he prefers to jump to his death rather than go back to prison. I guess he made his . . . decision to leave.
ice cream - Soe-rae's supper of choice.
Ipo - Korean riverside town where the sun never shines in the morning. Reported to be the inspiration for the song "Mist."
JANG Hae-joon [PARK Hae-il] - Homicide detective investigating the murder of Song Seo-rae's husband(s).
Jeong-ahn [LEE Jung-hyun] - Hae-joon's wife, who works at a nuclear reactor. After making her decision to leave she departs with a bag of pomegranate seeds and a turtle.
Ki Do-soo [Seung-mok YOO] - First husband of Song Seo-rae. He inscribed everything he owned with the initials "KDS." Jang begins to sympathize with Seo-rae when he discovers that those initials have been tattooed on her belly.
Martin Beck - The hero of a series of Swedish crime novels by the married writing team Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. There is a stack of these books in Jang Hae-joon's Busan apartment.
"Mist" - a song recorded by Yoon Jeong-hee in 1967, later covered by Song Chang-sik. For this film, the artists were brought together to perform the song as a duet, which plays under the final credits. Snippets from the original version of the song are heard twice in the film. The director has said the song was the inspiration for the film.
Quote
I walk alone
on this misty street
Sometime ago, you were so sweet
and your silhouette too
Oh, oh, oh . . .
Where did he go?
Mountains - Soe-rae's first husband dies falling off a mountain. We learn there is another mountain in Korea that holds a special significance for Soe-rae's family, and later Song Soe-rae goes there to spread the ashes of her grandfather and mother. Two violent confrontations occur on elevated structures. High places, in the film, are associated with death and violence. In archetypal thinking, mountains, because they are phallic, are associated with men.
nuclear reactor - Hae-joon's wife works at one. Such a place also provides the setting for a popular Korean TV show.
PARK Chan-wook - Director of DTL. His other films include Old Boy, Thirst, and The Handmaiden.
PARK Hae-il - The male star of DTL. He also played the principal suspect in Memories of Murder.
pomegranates - the red color suggests blood; in the scene where the detective and his wife cut open several in a large pile, the knife work puts us in mind of carnage.
repetition - a technique used throughout the film.
sand and surf - an image near the end of the film shows the incoming tide gradually wearing down a mound of sand.
Shima sushi - The meal shared by detective and suspect during their first interogation scene together. "Shima" means island.
silhouette - After "solving" her case, Hae-joon is encouraged by Song Soe-rae to destroy the pictures of her taken when she was under his surveillance. He fights to keep one although it is difficult to see because it's so dark. He argues that her silhouette is pretty, and he retains it. Later, at the beach, digital trickery will produce Soe-rae's silhouette in the tide as it breaks on shore.
Slappy [SEO Hyun-woo] - a goon who likes to hit women but who also venerates his mother. His mom was swindled by Song Soe-rae's second husband and as a result her health began to fail. Slappy promises that if the old woman dies, he will kill the one responsible. This piece of information is not lost on Song Seo-rae.
sleep - The hero has trouble sleeping. The heroine, who trained as a nurse, helps him fall asleep twice, once in his Busan apartment, and once in Ipo as they ride together in the back of a police car.
SONG Seo-rae [TANG Wei] - The mysterious heroine of DTL. Did she kill her first husband? What about her second? Anyone else? Does she love the hero? Why did she make her decision to leave?
Songgwangsa Temple, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do, South Korea - Budhist temple visited by the hero and heroine while they are falling in love.
spoilers - this encylopedia is full of 'em.
TANG Wei - The star of DTL, an actress who first achieved international recognition for her performance in Lust, Caution. Her other films include Late Autumn and Long Day's Journey Into Night. She's a real honey.
text messages - not merely a coneyer of information, now often an element of mise-en-scene, as it is here.
translations - Because Song Soe-rae is a Chinese immigrant, she often communicates in Mandarin. It is sometimes necessary to translate her language into Korean.
turtles - In Ipo, Hae-joon investigates the theft of the stock at a turtle farm.
TV - Clips from two Korean TV shows are shown, a historical drama and one about a nuclear reactor meltdown. Song Soe-rae takes her line "Am I so wicked?" from the first.
Vertigo - There are some similarities between DTL and Hitchcock's film. PCW insists he did not have Vertigo in mind when he made his film, but acknowledges that they have points in common. I don't see the resemblance myself.
VFX - DTL is replete with them.
waves - the waves at the end of the film are anticipated by the wallpaper in Soe-rae's apartment; the same pattern is also on her notebook.
wedding bands - Song Soe-rae notices the detective's ring during their first encounter. When Soe-rae returns to work after her husband's death, the detectives, who are keeping her under surveillance, notice she is no longer wearing her wedding band.