Forever with You (Geudaewa yeongwonhi )

One of the oldest preserved films of director Yu Hyun-mok, a key personality of Korean cinema of the 1960s. His work was often intellectually nuanced and based on a playful use of film style. Forever with You opens a tense story of a man whose circumstances bring into juvenile detention, then to prison for a theft of American supplies. His only source of optimism is a memory of femme fatale Ae-ran. The film openly reflects on social inequalities in post-war South Korea and simultaneously works with the poetics of classic noir. While primarily a melodrama, Yu inventively works with shadows framing the faces of characters, emphasizing their emotions and creating a visually stunning imagery. The sophisticated staging of movement in certain moments is reminiscent of dance numbers, expertly leading the viewer’s attention through the space. Forever with You thus presents a fascinating connection of refined stylistics and deep social commentary. (Dan Krátký)