Adapted by Byun Young-joo from a Japanese novel, this tale of a man whose fiancée goes missing taps directly into present-day economic anxiety as well as the terror of emotional commitment.
Veterinarian Mun-ho (Lee Sun-gyun) is driving his fiancée, Seon-yeong (Kim Min-hee), to meet his parents for the first time. Stopping to get some snacks en route, Mun-ho returns to the car to find the doors unlocked, the engine running and Seon-yeong missing. On returning to Seoul, Mun-ho finds their apartment stripped of any trace of Seon-yeong. As he digs into her past, he finds everything he thought he knew about her was a complete fabrication. Mun-ho looks up his down-and-out uncle Jong-geon (Cho Seong-ha, The Yellow Sea – JDIFF 2012), an ex-cop who was thrown off the force for accepting bribes. Desperate to restore his career, Jong-geon begins to investigate on his nephew’s behalf.
The complicated scenario in the early reels is child’s play compared with the intricate and knotty intrigues that follow, but even when it confuses, the film never ceases to compel. As the layers of deceit are peeled back, Byun seems in complete command of her material.
Russell Edwards, Variety
