Stalkers, bored housewives, suicides, cyberspace masseuses. It?s just another day in the overlapping lives of Seoul.

In one of the most impressive achievements of the fascinating new Korean cinema, Oh Myung-Hoon?s mosaic of everyday dramas takes as its main inspiration the gossipy sensationalism of tabloids while etching in a unique humanism of its own. There?s the high-schooler who falls for a call girl he meets while surfing the Internet, the housewife whose life takes a surprising turn when she inherits a friend?s chatroom ID, and the college professor desperately tracking down his mistress (and former student).

What unites these strands? A feeling of loneliness and dislocation, which technology (especially the Internet) only heightens rather than soothes. The disillusionment and lack of connection of the characters are balanced by the director?s surprising, offbeat humor and a sense for the absurdity that nevertheless links one human being to another. Add to that breathtaking compositions and stunning cinematography, and Sund@y Seoul emerges as so much more.

Fernando F. Croce

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