Review of Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2003) by Hwahyun K — 16 Oct 2008

The first 80 minutes are as close to perfect as it gets. The relationship's growth is completely organic and convincing, it's funny, touching, and relatable.

But there's no doubt that after the last third of the movie is significantly different in tone, and it easily felt as long as the rest. The little details that the earlier section delighted in are mostly glossed over, and the progression of the relationship is painted with rather broad strokes. Most of all, I found the subplot with the first girlfriend at this point rather strange and out of left field. It didn't fit with what we knew about her character beforehand, and we were given no clues that her feelings were so intense.

I will admit that I shed a few tears at the ending, but overall I can't help but feel disappointed by this, given how fantastic it is until that last half hour. But I've still rated this 4 stars, so obviously it's quite an excellent movie. I haven't seen anyone lodge the same complaints as I have, so maybe it's just me. And, I always feel the need to point out...if you don't like this style, you won't like this movie. Nothing revolutionary here. But you probably knew that the second you read the description.

15 minutes later, I thought of what I was trying to get at here. Joze herself is fully human through the beginning parts of the film. But after that shift I was talking about, she becomes a caricature. We hear nothing of her cooking or her knowledge, nor really anything else about her other than, "I haven't seen X before." This could very well be intentional, but it makes for less satisfying segments...Joze feels like less of a person after the relationship begins and all of those little things are tossed aside.