I was reading an interview with Korean actress Bae Doo-Na the other day. She’s the actress who played the archer chick in the Korean blockbuster monster flick The Host and who I first saw in Linda Linda Linda. In the interview she says something really eloquent- “I always liked the beauty of blank spaces, and films without accidents or incidents, films that focus on small details are hard to find.” Granted the interview was probably translated from Korean, but still, I really liked those words and that notion. Makes me think of Lost in Translation, a movie comprised of scenes which were captivating not for “accidents or incidents”, but just because, well, because I don’t know why exactly. And that’s kind of the point. A film that was great while being driven almost more by a mood than a plot.

It was exactly that sort of thing that led me to Google Bae Doo-Na and find that interview in the first place. I had recently come across some videos posted on YouTube related to Linda Linda Linda. When I first saw the movie I commented about how there were so many scenes in which absolutely nothing happened. Seemingly pointless scenes by western movie standards. Yet as I watched some of the videos on YouTube, some which were scenes from the movie itself, I found myself feeling somewhat nostalgic about the film and its characters. Where I had originally left the movie feeling like it was carried on the strength of its catchy music alone, I look back with a real fondness for the characters and an appreciation of the film in a very Lost in Translation-ish way.

But one of the videos on YouTube was actually a Paran Maum concert (that was the name of the main characters’ rock band in the movie). But this video was not a deleted scene from the movie or anything like that, because when Bae Doo-Na introduces the band, she uses their real names! That really got me curious. For one thing, I had no idea that those actresses were really playing their instruments in the film. And the bigger shock was that the two songs they performed in this mini-concert were actually fantastic! They actually sound great as a band, not just a bunch of actresses pretending to be a band. But alas, I couldn’t find any more info; couldn’t find where that concert was held or what it was for (although presumably it was to promote the movie). I was also curious as to exactly how good Bae Doo-Na’s Japanese is. This was a Japanese movie and she was playing a Korean exchange student, so she didn’t need to say too much in Japanese. But she can clearly sing fluently in Japanese and had no problem speaking to Japanese crowd during the mini concert.

All this got me wanting to see the movie again, so I got it on DVD and watched it from beginning to end last night. With that interview quote in mind, I just sat back and took in the movie all over again. And it really is great. My mind normally races to try and get to the point of things. But just like with Lost in Translation, many of the scenes didn’t necessarily have a point; they just were. And when I just let go and allowed myself to stop and smell the roses, to take in the great little details in each scene rather than looking ahead to what comes next, I discovered a movie I now really love… So how is it that this movie is not a cult classic?? 😀