#1 - The Actresses (2009)

Review by Russell Edwards (RMIT researcher, Film Critic, former advisor to the Busan International Film Festival).

[Image source: actressmovie.co.kr]

In a cinema culture often noted for its masculine posturing, The Actresses is a tremendous showcase for some of South Korea’s best female performers. Delightfully playful, and fearlessly self-referential, this is a film that pretends to be an insider’s look at what can happen when six famous South Korean actresses are recruited for a photo shoot for the local edition of Vogue.

Notice that I say pretend. Despite what SBS On Demand may claim, The Actresses is not a documentary. The slyly, inventive director E J-Yong pitched his mockumentary idea to Youn Yuh-Jung (Woman of Fire, The Bacchus Lady), Lee Mi-sook (Whale Hunter, Untold Scandal), Ko Hyun-jung (Woman On the Beach), Kim Ok-vin (The Villainess), Kim Min-hee (The Handmaiden) and Choi Ji-woo (Nowhere To Hide), then provided them with vague scenarios of conflict. Once the cast were on set, E let them improvise their way through the suggested stories, which is why each actress also gets a writer’s credit.

The ‘script’ proposes that these sparkling personalities will be photographed alongside diamonds as a product placement for a jewellery brand, but unfortunately a snowstorm in Japan prevents the gems from being delivered and the actresses have to wait… and wait… and wait until the props arrive. Devoid of minders, and with only each other for company, the ensemble, talk, laugh, sigh, drink, smoke, complain, name drop and inevitably one pair burst into an argument fuelled by insecurities and too much booze.

[Image source: asianwiki]

The fact that each actress uses their own name adds to the fun (What’s real? What’s not?) and is at the root of why SBS and others have mistaken it for a documentary. And with its swish pans, and occasional bit of wobble cam, this film does look like a documentary. However, the filming camera always remains artfully unseen. Besides, no actress, least of all, actresses as savvy as these, would allow themselves to be caught on camera in moments as vulnerable as E captures.

In the course of the film, each actress goes through multiple costume changes for their individual photo shoots. This allows E to indulge in some dazzling montage sequences that replicate the art of fashion photography while also demonstrating the cast’s ability to adopt a range of personas. Given that Lee Min-hee worked as a fashion model before becoming an actress, it is no surprise that she is the most alluring as a photographic subject. Although everyone gets a chance to shine, the film truly belongs to Youn as the elder diva whose vanity and insecurities is troubled by the suggestion that she was a last minute replacement for another actress who dropped out. Despite reassurances from the magazine’s staff and her co-stars’ reverence, Youn just can’t let it go. Paranoia about being a disposable commodity features amongst any actresses’ fears, but no place more so than beauty conscious South Korea. Although Youn’s career spans five decades (and recently crowned by her 2021 Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for Minari), each of her co-stars understands that their status and peace of mind is equally precarious. The authenticity of Youn’s worried performance feeds the belief that we are watching a documentary. Furthermore, as the shoot’s first arrival, Youn sets the tone for the rest of the ensemble who together enrich what in a lesser director’s hands could have been a one-joke film.

The Actresses is currently available for streaming on SBS On Demand

[Image source: asianwiki]