idol

Director Lee Su-jin’s Idol explores different themes. The ones that resonate the most have to do with a father’s (Sol Kyung-gu) love for his son, and a rising politician’s (Han Suk-kyu) hunger for power and success; their respective dysfunctional families; and the irony of fate (no connection whatsoever to the 1975 romantic comedy). The lead characters are both passionate, albeit desperate in their individual mission: one in the most unselfish of ways, the other totally self-centered. Much like a mischievous child, Director Lee Su-jin seems to take great pleasure in shocking his audience. He does so from the very first lines of dialogue, and proves quite successful at it in the early going of the new Korean release. The problem with Lee’s Idol is that he clearly does not abide by the adage of Less is more. Although the numerous turns of events in the storyline prove captivating and clever […]

More