Taciturn Dae-sik (Lee Hee-jun) ends up having his business trip in Cappadocia extended to a weekend of tourism, all at the insistence of his manager Won-chang (Jung Chun). Won-chang is one of the most annoying men in the world, but has strong competition from Na Byung-sun (Shin Min-jae), a loud, moronic alcoholic who hopes on this holiday to be reconciled with his wife Jung-hwa (Seo Ye-hwa), but cannot help being his old intolerable self. As these four and a mother (Kim Su-jin) with her two daughters take a guided tour together, Dae-sik’s history with Jung-hwa will emerge.
Ko Bong-soo’s Güle-Güle gently observes these characters at their worst and their most ridiculous, with the foreign setting amplifying the absurdity of their Korean manners and mores. A romance of sorts emerges in the final act, but this is mostly a comedy of human errors and flaws which leaves everyone’s interrelationships in literal suspense, as these characters prove unwilling and unable to say goodbye to their pasts at home. As for the meaning of the (Turkish) title, you will have to wait till the very end. The itinerary, by car, cave and ultimately balloon, may be a little meandering, but along the way there is plenty of wry humour and genuine charm.
strap: Koreans abroad: Ko Bong-soo’s observational comedy tracks tourists in Turkey struggling to soar above their lives at home
© Anton Bitel
