South Korea 85 mins
Director E J-Yong is making a ten-minute short film/advertisement. He has assembled some of the top South Korean actors together in a location in Seoul but what he has not told the cast and crew is that he is in LA and will be directing them via Skype. The result? Dissatisfaction and unhappiness from all involved. But it’s all filmed, and that’s what Behind the Camera shows. Although is it real, or is the whole thing scripted? It certainly felt genuine, but the blurb in the MIFF program states it is a mockumentary. After having my heart broken with This Ain’t California, I don’t know what to believe.
Perhaps if these were familiar faces for me, I would have found this to be an interesting film. As it happens, a whole lot of people I don’t know complaining about a situation which is clearly fraught from the start was not that interesting. I don’t watch reality television often because it is just this kind of manipulation of people’s behaviour that annoys me. If you love Korean film and know the actors well, it may well be more entertaining.
Behind The Camera screens at Greater Union on Friday, July 26 at 9:15pm and at The Forum on Friday, August 2 at 11am. To book tickets, visit http://miff.com.au/
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