Ha Jungwoo's "Witjip Saramdeul": Plenty of Words, No Story [Slate]

Amplifying Conflict with Unrealistic Devices... Failing to Address the Core Issues
Lack of Emotional Logic Between Cause and Resolution
Emotions Lost in Images and Space... Only the "Flavor" of Dialogue Remains

Movie stills from "Witjip Saramdeul"

Director Ha Jungwoo's film "Witjip Saramdeul" begins with the relatable theme of marital conflict, yet its actual content feels far removed from everyday life. The premise-that a single dinner can shake the foundations of a relationship-is intriguing, but the film fails to develop this into realistic emotions or a relatable narrative.

The downstairs couple, Hyunsoo (Kim Dongwook) and Jeonga (Gong Hyojin), are shown from the very first scene sleeping in separate rooms and communicating only through messaging apps. The cause of their rift is trivial, such as whether or not to adopt a pet cat. In this situation, the upstairs couple, Mr. Kim (Ha Jungwoo) and Sookyung (Lee Honey), appear and propose group sex. They treat Hyunsoo as the odd one for objecting and insist they can help restore the relationship.

Their appearance and suggestion serve only to amplify the conflict. The deficiencies and fractures in Hyunsoo and Jeonga's relationship are already clearly revealed early on. Rather than offering a new interpretation or deepening the issue, the film reduces these elements to a provocative scenario of shock, resistance, and immediate reactions. Moreover, situations such as Jeonga standing naked in the living room while knowing Mr. Kim is watching lack both narrative necessity and aesthetic justification. Instead of exploring the depth of the relationship, the film is content to exaggerate the situation.

Movie stills from "Witjip Saramdeul"

When discussing the boundaries to which marital narratives can be expanded, Edward Albee's play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is frequently cited as a benchmark. This work does not confine marital conflict to the private sphere but elevates it to reflect the emotional and class anxieties of an entire society, expanding it into a universal tragedy. In the play, George and Martha endure their empty marriage by inventing a nonexistent "son" as a shared fantasy. When this fiction collapses, the couple is forced to confront the inescapable truth along with the lies that have sustained them. What Albee depicted was not mere discord, but the anxiety and hypocrisy of the American middle class clinging to illusions to sustain life.

Roman Polanski's "Carnage" (2011) also follows the conversation between two couples who gather to discuss a playground fight between their children. At first, they remain polite, but the pressure of the enclosed space gradually erodes their facade. Polanski delicately captures the shifting power dynamics through camera angles and lighting, ensuring that the cracks in conversation reveal the true nature of the relationships. This stands in stark contrast to "Witjip Saramdeul," which merely adds unrealistic elements to heighten provocation.

The process of resolving conflict in "Witjip Saramdeul" also feels contrived. Sookyung, depicted as a psychiatrist, draws out past stories and confessions, but this development only serves to "force" the characters to reflect. Aristotle warned against the "deus ex machina" in his "Poetics," arguing that resolving problems with devices introduced from outside the narrative undermines the completeness of the drama. "Witjip Saramdeul" fails to provide sufficient emotional logic for why the intervention of a third party leads to reconciliation. In relationship dramas, reconciliation is convincing when the characters confront the causes, acknowledge each other's wounds, and reach a new understanding. However, in this film, reconciliation seems to occur by chance, without such a process.

Movie stills from "Witjip Saramdeul"

The problem is also evident in the dialogue-centered structure. For a confined-space drama like this to achieve cinematic success, the direction must expand language into images, space, and the flow of emotion. "Carnage" is a prime example. Although the story unfolds in a single apartment, Polanski visualized the shifting power dynamics through changes in character positions, use of props, and camera angles. There is plenty of dialogue, but the images convey more than the words themselves.

"Witjip Saramdeul" ultimately abandons this expansion. In a structure sustained only by dialogue, the visuals and editing fail to deepen the emotions, and the space does not succeed in reflecting the characters' inner states. What remains with the audience is the fleeting "flavor" of the actors' lines. While Gong Hyojin and Kim Dongwook's performances capture the emptiness of the relationship with precision, the narrative framework supporting them is too weak for any emotional resonance to linger.