Critic: Brandon Judell

Chul-Soo Park's "Farewell, My Darling" is a laying bare of Korean society as much as Robert Altman's "The Wedding" was a window into our own at its time of release. But instead employing a celebratory ritual such as tying the knot as his device of societal vivisection, Park opts for the death of a family head.

We meet old man Park (Sung Choi), the soon to be deceased, as he prepares himself for his regular ride to the coffee shop, where he'll flirt with the waitresses. At this point in his life, he is an isolated man, tolerated and loved, but almost forgotten by most of his family members who have moved away to bigger villages, cities or even the United States. Death will change that.

Shortly after Park packs it in, the relatives, the priests, the politicians and the neighbors will start pouring into the home of the son he lived with. His sisters will each try to mourn the loudest, the elders will fight for traditional observances, the politicians will exploit the proceedings to garner votes, and everyone will be looking out for free food and drink. ("Alcohol always tastes better at a funeral.")

In between prayers and screeches of sadness, one sister pulls herself together enough to hawk insurance policies to anyone who will listen. A brother parades his immense wealth like a peacock in heat. Women fight to watch their nightly soap opera while the men insists on changing the channel for news shows carrying reports of corruption among their government officials. Meanwhile, pigs are killed and their innards eaten raw, plus there's more crying and bowing and frantic anguish.

But as one member of the funeral party notes, "We wouldn't have to weep so much now if we were good enough to him when he was alive."

Amidst the satirical carryings-on, there are true mourners. The wife. The hard-working, selfless pregnant daughter-in-law. The mischievous grandson. And the director son, called off a movie set, portrayed by Chul-Soo Park himself.

Park, one of Korea's most acclaimed directors, here displays why he is so honored. Mixing farce with real pain and making it work is always a major accomplishment. That's why we so seldom see this union, one Park has accomplished so masterfully.

So considering that even though "Farewell, My Lovely" might benefit from some more judicial editing——a little less might mean a little more here——as a panoramic view of a Korea in change this is a superb entertainment . The personal and political aspects of this comedy unite to make it a true highlight of the films in competition at the 20th Montreal World Film Festival.

DIRECTOR/WRITER: Chul-Soo Park
CAST: Sung Choi, Jung Sook Moon, Sung Duk Kwon, Chul Soo Park, Ha Hyun Jung, Jin Mo Joo, Eun Jin Bang, Jae Hwang Park, Kwi Jung Chu, Dong Hyun Park, Il Woo Kim
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Jong Hyun Kim
PRODUCER: Yongman Kim (Kim's Video)
ASSISTANT PRODUCER: Jin Sun Yoon
EDITOR: Ki Hyung Cho
ART DIRECTOR: Jung Hwa Choi
PHOTOGRAPHY: Jung Woo Choi
FINANCIAL COORDINATOR: GTV, Inc.

GENRE: Comedy RUNNING TIME: 1:45 In Korean with English Subtitles