20140203: Movie Review--The Naked Kitchen

The Naked Kitchen (Kichin)

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. Korean live action feature length film, 2009, NR, 102 minutes, drama, romance.
2. IMDB: 6.5/10.0 from 202 audience ratings.  Spoken word is in Korean; subtitles in English; aspect 2.35
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No reviews yet,' 17% wanted to see it from 116 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.2/5.0 from 19,524 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: Ji-yeong Hong.
6. Starring: Min-a Shin as Ahn Mo-rae, Ji-hun Ju as Park Du-re, Tae-woo Kim as Han Sang-in, Yi-da Jeon as Seon-woo Kim.


2. Setup and Plot
1. Mo-rae is married to Sang-in, and has known him since childhood.  She even calls him Bro to commemorate this.  Sang-in switches business to being a restauranteur, and gets a new mentor, Du-re.  Unfortunately, Mo-rae has a chance meeting with Du-re before he is introduced by her husband; they start an affair.  When she meets Du-re formally, it is a bit of a shock.


2. Mo-rae tells Sang-in she's been unfaithful.  Fairly soon after that, Sang-in forgives her for it.  The affair continues, however, and Sang-in stays in the dark about the identity of the other man.  Of course, he starts to figure it out, since Mo-rae and Du-re are fairly obvious about it.


3. Will Mo-rae stay with Sang-in or go off with Du-re?  Are there further complications?


3. Conclusions
1. We see the difficulties of rich, young professionals in perfect health.  They do manage to create problems for themselves through ongoing irresponsibility.
2. I've seen this (RT) described as a comedy.  There is absolutely nothing funny about this movie.
3. One line summary: Love triangle gone bad, or was it gone stupid?
4. Three stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 10/10 Well done.


2. Sound: 8/10 The subtitles seemed OK compared to people's expressions, tones, and actions while speaking.


3. Acting: 6/10 Reasonable.


4. Screenplay: 5/10 A good 15 minutes of story spread over 102 minutes.  Incredibly stupid ending.