SFIAAFF hooks "Rainbow Trout"

03.14 - Posted by Editor

SFIAAFF hooks "Rainbow Trout"

Okay, it's a Asian film as opposed to an Asian American film. But "Rainbow Trout"caught the fancy of AsianAmericanFilm.com correspondent Min Jung Kim at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, so here's her mini-review.   3.14.2000 -- by Min Jung Kim   Some stories never lose their charm and Korean director Park Chong-Won's "Rainbow Trout" definitely puts some quirky twists to the old tale of the city mouse and the country mouse.     Take two successful and self absorbed couples and a younger sister from the sprawl of Seoul and set them down for a weekend out in the countryside where there's not much else to do but squat in rivers to increase your sexual stamina and eat a lot of fish. Place them at the home of a moody fish farmer who's not only the former lover of one of the wives, but prone to drinking, smoking, and eating sushi at every opportunity. Other countryside characters displaying their earnestness include a set of rowdy hunters (named Rambo and Gorilla), a Peeping Tom with a crush, and fish that commit suicide when stressed.     Between gender politics, social commentary, and sexual tension, this film offers a slew of interesting perspectives.     In the Q&A session following the film, Park said that though this film was well received in Seoul, it has achieved greater acclaim in international audiences.     The film achieves a theatre-like effect with fixed shots set at the three "stages" where this story takes place: the road, the fish farm, and Chang's home. Park did this intentionally to allow the audience to create their own judgements and interpretations of the film.   The SFIAAFF concludes March 16. Visit the website at http://naatanet.org/festival/2000/index.html or call 415-255-4299 for more information.   Have an opinion about this article or film? Post your two cents on the Message Boards!   Writer Min Jung Kim, (25), is a young Asian American poet, writer, and student of life in the San Francisco Bay area. In her spare time she's a grunt in the marketing department of TheMan.com - where she's able to combine her interests in her favorite subject and her marketing stylo.     Min Jung, an alumn from the University of Michigan, has been published in the Detroit Free Press, Asian American Women's Journal, APA Voices, We-Woori Magazine, Mosaics, and several online publications. Her current projects include her own column for IIStix - Zine You Want To Read and a never-ending-work-in-progress anthology of poetry & musings. Any reference to Husbands, spouses, ghosts, etc. is used with poetic license and she is happily single despite anything her father might say.