M (DVDrip - 2007)

A prominent up-and-coming author Min-woo readies his new much anticipated follow-up novel while suffering from frequent nightmares and hallucinations. This unexplainable condition affects both his personal and professional life. Soon he can’t differentiate reality from fantasy and continues to have feelings of being chased. His own paranoia leads him to a café in a dark, unassuming alley and encounters a charming young woman named Mimi. Min-woo starts to wonder how he and this girl in front of him are connected and traces long-forgotten memories of his first love.


The mysterious letter M, title of Lee Myungse’s mesmerizing new film, resonates with meanings and allusions. “M” stands for memories; it evokes “Miriam: A Classic Story of Loneliness,” the acclaimed short story by Truman Capote; it is the first letter of meng, Mandarin for “dream”; and it also recalls “Mist” by Chung Hong-hee, a very popular song in Korea at the end of the sixties.

Another blaze of glory in Lee’s cinematic firmament, this moody and melancholic supernatural love story is brought to life onscreen by the director’s unique, sophisticated style.

Hallucinations and nightmares torment up-and-coming young author Min-woo (Gang Dong-won). He cannot concentrate on his new work, the much-anticipated follow-up to his first successful novel, nor can he lead a normal life. Old photos and images he does not recognize – though they are somehow familiar – materialize from the darkness as if developed in a darkroom. Haunted by these spectres of memories he can’t remember, he drags himself through days of confusion and alienation. Mimi (Lee Yeon-hee), a beautiful young woman, follows him around like one completely lost in love. As Mimi intones the notes of “Mist” for him, long-ago recollections sparkle in the darkness of his mind as if illuminated by flashbulbs. Flickering memories of his first love claim his concentration, calling for him to remember.

In his quest for a visual language that makes the most of the cinematic medium, Lee has elaborated an inimitable, personal way of filming; he has drifted away from the shores of mainstream narrative to explore new territories of visual expression. Toying with the well-exploited and commercially successful genres of melodrama and romance, Lee works his singular magic in M. Oscillating between dream and reality, Hollywood classics and cartoonish images, he whispers and shouts the lines of his wonderfully innovative poetry. Giovanna Fulvi – Toronto International Film Festival 2007