(Movie Review) With daring humor, 'The People Upstairs' candidly explores modern love
SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Ha Jung-woo's satirical comedy "The People Upstairs" does not hide what it is about. A wine called "Foursome" that appears early in the film gives audiences a pretty clear hint -- and fair warning -- of what's to come.
Yet, despite this explicit premise, its sharp writing and witty dialogue, on top of brilliant performances, keep things playful and fun, rather than uncomfortable.
Jung-ah (Kong Hyo-jin) and Hyun-soo (Kim Dong-wook) are a young married couple who have drifted apart, living more like distant roommates than partners. They text each other from different rooms of their beautifully decorated home, occupying separate spaces in what should be a shared life.
Despite their constant bickering and emotional distance, one thing manages to unite them: the relentless sounds of lovemaking from the apartment upstairs that keep them tossing and turning every night.
Jung-ah, who secretly admires Soo-kyung (Lee Ha-nee), the upstairs neighbor and a famous psychiatrist, invites her and her husband, Mr. Kim (Ha Jung-woo), over for dinner. Officially, it's to thank them for being patient during the construction noise from Jung-ah and Hyun-soo's renovations. But Jung-ah's real motivation is curiosity about the couple's private life, which she secretly envies.
Hyun-soo, by contrast, is at his breaking point over the noise. He warns Jung-ah that if the dinner, which he never agreed to in the first place, doesn't wrap up within an hour, he will let his anger loose.
The four now navigate their first encounter with a charged mix of excitement, tension and curiosity about what might unfold, trading casual remarks over dinner and wine. The evening proceeds smoothly until the couple upstairs nonchalantly opens up about their private life, ultimately causing Jung-ah and Hyun-soo's buried issues to come spilling out.
Ha's fourth directorial work, the film is a Korean adaptation of the critically acclaimed 2020 Spanish comedy film "Sentimental," which shares the same English title.
The adapted movie's rich narrative, packed with impactful and thought-provoking yet funny lines, keeps the energy alive and prevents any sense of stagnation that might come from a single-set film shot mostly inside an apartment over the course of a single evening.
The mise-en-scene, which bursts with colorful hues, is decorated with Ha's characteristic touch of his own paintings (Ha is also an established painter). Adding to the film's distinctive character, it is divided into five sections, each introduced with artwork painted by the director-actor himself.
Though crucial to the narrative, the upstairs couple feels deliberately exaggerated and caricature-like, serving to spotlight the more grounded, relatable struggles of Jung-ah and Hyun-soo: their avoidance of confrontation and failure to communicate.
The film succeeds brilliantly by taking viewers on a one-evening journey where, beneath the provocative setup, lies the couple's deeply buried problems -- issues that Jung-ah and Hyun-soo, and by extension many in the audience, find themselves finally compelled to face.
"The People Upstairs," arguably Ha's strongest directorial effort yet, premiered at the 30th Busan International Film Festival in September and was screened at the 10th edition of the London East Asia Film Festival in November.
The film is set for local release on Wednesday.
jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
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