Synopsis
Chang-su, Byeong-gi and Yeong-bae are pickpockets that work as a team. Chang-su is in charge of misleading people who are after them. But he is full of complaint that he has the most difficult job to do and...展开gets the smallest cut.
Notes
It is an elegy for the desperate and hopeless lives of young men of the underclass.
It was one of the rare, well-directed movies of its time. (Kang So-won)
It’s a pleasurable experience to watch movies from one’s past recollections. There are independent films which can be said to be part of that recollection. Director Kim Yui-seok’s ChangSu’s Employment time, a work from the first graduation showing of the Academy of Film Arts, can be called an early magnum opus of short films. The main characters are physically healthy men in their 20s. But they do not have jobs, and make a living pickpocketing on the streets of Seoul. Unlike the young men from the movie, The March of Fools (Babodeul-ui haengjin), who ran from authorities who were trying to crack down on their long hair, the young men in this movie run after they’ve pickpocketed people. Although they are constantly being chased, it seems like they are trying to let something out from within. Because the film was shot in the middle of Seoul with a handheld video camera, it has very dynamic cinematography. The final black and white still gives the viewer a lingering sense of sadness. It’s also interesting to see Ahn Dong-kyu, who went on to become a producer, in his youth. (Cho Young-gak)(Cine 21, Issue Number 393)