ALARIS' REVIEWS

14th May 2008
Bungee Jumping of their Own (2001)

Bungee Jumping of their Own is a Korean, supernatural romance, where telling you the genre probably gives away the ending. However, this is partly due to the fact that the film can be chronologically divided into three starkly different sections. The first fifty minutes is an extremely boring romance, the next twenty minutes is a deeply uncomfortable social analysis, and the final fifteen minutes is supernatural payoff.

The premise of Bungee Jumping of their Own is: an awkward young man falls in love with an artistic young woman - meandering romance ensues, until one day, tragedy strikes. We pick up some seventeen years later, and the film starts turning peculiar.

Unfortunately, even those who like meandering romances will struggle with the clunky and uninteresting relationship between the two adult leads, although it doesn't seem to be the fault of the actors, since the male lead does an excellent job later on.

Those who like meandering romances will also probably switch off feeling disturbed after the first fifty minutes, when the film takes a confusing turn into dark, personal territory. Those who hang in there will probably feel that the final payoff, while interesting, was not worth the first seventy minutes.

Bungee Jumping of their Own could have made quite a punchy, poignant fifteen minute film, but when stretched out to feature length it is slow, clunky, and jarring in the middle to late section. It's an interesting concept, with some strong moments, but you could probably just watch the final fifteen minutes.

Verdict: If you're curious, watch the last 15 mins. If not, don't bother.

If you like slow, uncomfortable movies, you might like this.