A Day for an Affair

(South Korea)

A Cinema Service release of an IMM Cinema Fund, Cinema Service, iFilm (cq) Co. presentation of an iFilm Co. production. (International sales: iHQ, Seoul.) Produced by Kim Gi-hun. Directed by Jang Moon-il. Screenplay, Jang, Ju Chan-ok.

With: Kim Hye-su, Yun Jin-seo, Lee Jong-hyeok, Lee Min-gi.

Sexual politics and unadulterated fun blend smoothly when the affairs of two bored housewives intersect in bouncy South Korean sex comedy "A Day for an Affair." Though sans nudity, pic paradoxically has a frankness that makes many Western romantic comedies seem tame. Too mainstream for fests, this comic snapshot of contempo Korean sexual mores will perform well in established Asian markets. Local B.O. in February was a minor conquest.

Identified only by her online moniker, bored wife and coy young mother "Tweetie" (Yun Jin-seo) hooks up with keen-to-conjugate salesman Fox (Lee Jong-hyeok). While Fox tries to wear her down, initially Tweetie decides she likes the idea of an affair more than the proposed physical transaction. In contrast, feisty thirtysomething housewife "Miss Dewdrop" (excellent Kim Hye-su, from "Tazza") has landed a precocious, 20-year-old virgin toyboy (Lee Min-gi), whom she plays like a piano. Strands overlap as the couples visit the same love hotel and Tweetie's oblivious policeman husband leads a raid requested by Miss Dewdrop's suspicious spouse. Helming is snappily commercial, actors apply razor-sharp comic timing to the astute script, and technical credits are impeccable.

Camera (color), Kim Yeong-ho; editors, Kim Yong-su, Lee Min-jae; music, Bong Jun-seok; art director, Kim Heui-jae. Reviewed at Jeonju Film Festival (Korean Cinema Showcase), April 2, 2006. Original title: Barampigi joheunnal. Running time: 102 MIN.
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