Director: Yi Seung Jin
Running Time: 87 Minutes
Certificate: E
PLANET OF SNAIL is a fascinating and delicate piece of work. The very idea screams of high concept melodramatic Oscar bait, as we are introduced to Young Chan, a man who is both deaf and blind, and has been so since he was little. He is married to Soon Ho, a woman who suffers from her own physical affliction. The two make quite the intrepid couple as they explore life together, with Soon Ho acting as Young Chan’s eyes and ears. Fortunately, Yi Seung Jin approaches his subjects with understanding and acceptance, rather than pity and exploitation.
The idea of living in silence and darkness may sound both terrifying and hauntingly sad, but Young Chan is the kind of protagonist filled with so much cheer and a genuine zest for life, that you’ll find it impossible to feel anything such as pity. What the audience will be infused with, is a sense of awe that someone dealt such a difficult hand is able to embrace life to the fullest. Young Chan is inspirational, not just because he is living with difficulties, but because he pushes his life to the limits, even to the extent of writing and directing a play.
The heart of this film is the love story between Soon Ho and Young Chan. They make a delightful pair and allow us to view many of the wonderful moments they share together. At one point Young Chan playfully throws stones at the cameramen, Soon Ho immediately understands Young Chan’s sense of humour. Young Chan also experiences and shares the world with his wife in ways the film could never quite capture, such as guiding her hands along the bark of a tree.
Yi Seung Jin is obviously an upcoming talent in the world of Korean documentaries, and may even one day rival the likes of Kim Dong Won. For now, his style is slightly too observational, and although that is the key to the film’s success in many scenes, it also means we are uninformed about some information. For example, judging from the start of the film it comes across that Young Chan is completely blind and deaf, but later on there are hints that he is not 100% blind or deaf. This information changes how we perceive Young Chan’s actions and reactions.
Thankfully, the majority of the film is a life-affirming glimpse into true love and the mountains it can climb. Wonderfully shot with an air of simplicity, and edited in a way that both represents the slow snail like pace of how Young Chan lives his life, as well as creating some fiercely tense moments of surprising excitement. I never thought seeing two people change a light bulb could be emotional, uplifting, and nerve racking all at the same time.
PLANET OF SNAIL is released on DVD on Digital Download on 27th May via Dogwoof. You can pick your copy up via this link here.
