July Jang’s first feature, a strange psycho-melodrama, is a little over-extended. It could almost work as a pilot for a (very dark) TV series; there is a tinge of early Polanski. The star is Doona Bae, whose beauty has a haunted look. She is Young-nam, a conscientious young Korean police officer, keeping a lid on personal anguish that has turned her into a high-functioning alcoholic. Young-nam has been sent away from Seoul, for some unspecified personal disgrace, to take up new duties in a tiny seaside town. Here she discovers that a local gangmaster, Yong-ha (Song Sae-byeok) is abusing his teenage daughter Dohee (Kim Sae-ron). This troubled girl runs to Young-nam for help; Jang shows how Dohee’s vulnerability unlocks Young-nam’s own need for love, and the two embark on an ambiguous, disturbing relationship. This is a little contrived and soapy, although Doona Bae has vivid presence.
