This was not how Byung-Woon had pictured a reunion with his ex-girlfriend. After a year of separation Hee-Su suddenly appears in front of him in a gambling hall and, without mincing words, demands repayment of a considerable sum of money she once lent him. Thus begins a road movie through the grey metropolis of Seoul, from one acquaintance Byung-Woon hits up for money to the next. Each of these stations has in store a new indignity for the suspicious, impatient Hee-Su, but also unexpected insights into the life of her former lover, whom she sees in a new light by the end of the exhausting day.
Director Lee Yoon-Ki, known for subtle dramas about everyday life with strong female characters (This Charming Girl, Ad Lib Night), outdid himself with My Dear Enemy. Imperceptibly he shifts the focus of the film from the exaggeratedly nonchalant, talkative debtor to the exasperated, taciturn lender. Jeon Do-Yeon plays the latter role in one of the most persuasive performances of her career. When her car is towed away that evening and the two have to continue on the underground and by foot with almost all of the money scraped together, the humiliations of the day have also taught Hee-Su something like humility – and for a moment a smile flashes across her face.
Christoph Terhechte
Production: Sponge, Seoul; Bom Film Productions, Seoul
Screenplay: Lee Yoon-Ki, Park Eun-Young (after a model of Taira Azuko)
Camera: Choi Sang-Ho
Cast: Jeon Do-Yeon, Ha Jung-Woo
Format: 35mm, Color
Running Time: 123 min.
Language: Korean
