The Peter Pan Formula

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Movie: The Peter Pan Formula
Revised romanization: Piteopaeneui Gongsik
Hangul: 피터팬의 공식
Director: Cho Chang-Ho
Assistant Director: Park Sang-Min
Writer: Cho Chang-Ho
Producer: Park Dong-Ho, Lee Seung-Jae, Lim Choong-Geun, Bae Jung-Min
Cinematographer: Kim Yong-Chul, Park Sang-Hoon
Release Date: October 10, 2005
Runtime: 108 min.
Genre: Drama, Coming of Age
Distributor: CJ Entertainment
Production Budget: US$ 0.5 M
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot

Han-Soo (On Joo-Wan) lives alone with his mother in a small town by the sea. He is the star on his school's swim team, but, just as they are preparing for a national competition, Han-Soo quits the team. Han-Soo then learns that his mother attempted to commit suicide. Han-Soo now finds himself having to take care of his comatose mother and all the bills at home. Meanwhile, Han-Soo falls for his much older neighbor Yoo In-Hee (Kim Ho-Jung).

Cast



On Joo-Wan	Kim Ho-Jung	Ok Go-Woon	Son Hee-Seon
Kim Han-Soo	Yoo In-Hee	Yoon Mi-Jin	mother

Additional Cast Members:

Park Min-Ji - Min-Ji
Park Yong-Jin - father
Cho Seong-Ha - Coach Park
Seo Jun-Young - Yong-Ki
Kim Mi-Seong - homeroom teacher
Jang Ji-Woo - Young-Chul
Park Jin-Soo - Ji-Young
Kwon Oh-Jin - shipowner
Lee Joo-Suk - In-Hee's husband
Park Chan-Kuk - mathematics teacher
Kim Young - clock shop owner

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Comments

Ki Feb 07 2009 4:48 pm If you walked blindly into a screening of “The Peter Pan Formula” you could very well guess that you’re watching a new Ki-Duk Kim film - from visual composition to unpredictable narrative style to symbolic images galore to even the occasional shocking moments – all the trademarks of Mr. Kim are there. Yet that guess would be wrong as the “The Peter Pan Formula” is helmed by first time film director, Chang-ho Cho. But you would still get brownie points as Chang-ho Cho worked under Ki-Duk Kim for several of his films which explains the similarities.

At its core “The Peter Pan Formula” deals with a young man’s underdeveloped psychological state as he is suddenly placed into the onerous position of adulthood. The more compelling aspects of the film would have been the moments directly focused on the young man’s relationship with his next door neighbor and the trials and tribulations he encountered while paying off the debts for his comatose mother. In particular, the scenes where Hansoo robbed the convenience stores or was pushed to the edge by unruly bill collectors and the unscrupulous employer were moments when the film seemed to be clicking on all cylinders. The faults of the film could be found in the film’s attempt to throw too much into the second half of the film. In particular the introduction of the neighbor’s daughter, Min Ji, felt unnecessary as her appearance provided nothing more than a temporary diversion. The second half’s more dramatic moments were also filled with an arty excess that I found unappealing.

There were also plenty of symbolic imagery placed into the film, none being more apparent than the lighthouse that was a fixture in the opening and final scene. The importance of that lighthouse was open ended, but with the film’s final moments showing Hansoo’s behavior more regressive it seemed that the lighthouse was a symbolic image for maternal love rather than a general state of happiness. Interesting to note that a scene in the second half of the film showed the lighthouse situated in a empty area, barricaded all around, with signs warning trespassers to stay away.

In retrospect, “The Peter Pan Formula” was a gripping and at times even shocking film that offered a lot for the viewer to chew on. The more disturbing scenes in the film will reverberate with the audience in different ways depending on their own personal acumen. While all these aspects made “The Peter Pan Formula” a heady film to watch, the second half did throw too much into the mix lessening its overall impact. This one will leave you with something to talk about.

The Peter Pan Formula

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