Take Care of My Cat (2001)

Take Care of My Cat

This movie is really good. It shows how the South Korean women seemed to struggle to find their own true identity. Its really a beautiful story, and it showed me how friendships can stand the test of time if only you work to keep them together. October 13, 2008

A touching film!

I was in a mood for something different for DVD viewing a few nights ago and I realized that within my large (and yet, many unwatched) collection of DVD's was the Korean film "Take care of my cat" aka "Goyangileul Butaghae" in Korea.

The story focuses on the lives of five high school friends who live in an industrial seaside town of Inchon.

The five move on after graduation and they try their best to keep communication with each other.

The beautiful Hae-joo works for a brokerage firm and dreams of having a successful career by working hard and hoping for a chance to move up in ranks. For Hae-joo, she tends to love herself quite a bit and loves to shop.

Ji-young is the total opposite. She's very artistic and wants to study abroad but unlike any of her friends, she lives with her grandparents in the slums of Inchon.

She tends to borrow money from her friends and she and Hae-joo tend to clash with each other because Hae-joo is fashionable and tends to spend money while Ji-young is trying to survive and help her grandparents who live in a shack with a rooftop that is about to come down.

Tae-hee comes from a dedicated large family who seem very together. Unfortunately for Tae-hee, she feels that she doesn't belong. She tends to do many odd jobs such as passing out flyers and helping a poet with cerebral paralysis and tends to be the intermediary between Hae-joo and Ji-young.

The last two are the twins who sell merchandise as street vendors and try to get together when their friends organize a group trip.

If there is one thing in common that the young ladies have with each other, it's their connection to a cel phone.

The sixth cast member is Titi, the cat. The cat is pretty much pawned off to each friend because they can't take care of her but each time one friend has the cat, we get to know more about each individual girl. Also, with communication among the friends starting to break down, the cat is literally the only way certain friends communicate with each other.

"Take care of my cat" is pretty much a straightforward film about life after high school and the lost communication among friends. Also, like many teenagers, wanting to leave the place that you lived in.
The story focuses more on Hae-joo, Ji-young and Tae-hee and the complications they have within their personal lives.

As much as Hae-joo would love her friends to believe that she has a great career at the brokerage firm that she works at. The truth is that without a college education, working hard in her job is not going to gain her any respect from the other employees at the firm.

For Ji-Young, her friends are shocked to see how this happy teenager all of a sudden has become very moody and silent young adult. Not aware of her living circumstances that will eventually lead to tragedy.

For Tae-hee, she's the girl right in the middle. Lives in a good home, a big family that loves each other but she doesn't want any part of that. She looks at herself as the outsider and like many individuals, looks to find her own identity and through her friends, try to understand how the live their lives.

There is no true climax to the film or major developments. The film tries to capture the realism of growing up and does a great job of doing it, thus keeping you interested.

I found the different film settings really interesting and a different take of setting that I'm not accustomed to watching in a Korean film.

All in all, I really enjoyed "Take care of my cat". It's not amazingly great but it's a film that touches the hearts of people who have lived similar situations of having best friends in high school and as you grow older, you lose that communication. This film is different from what's out there and worth checking out. August 13, 2008

A subtle and very accomplished debut film...

I was very impressed by this upon first viewing, a couple years ago, and boy does it hold up with the passage of time. This was Jeong's debut and it will be very interesting to see where her career heads in the future.

In this coming-of-age story set in a group of young women in a rather bleak and industrial Inchon, S Korea, Jeong doesn't attempt to duplicate the lushness of Naruse or the extraordinary technique of Ozu, but there's an elegance that recalls both - a real ability to look straight into the many subtle slights these women endure, along with the many moments of joy they create, and discover profundity in the everyday. The basic mechanics of the story seem (at first) simple, and the film seems very ethereal for the first 20 minutes or so, but it does coalesce into something quite memorable - the slow tempo and loping narrative makes it easy to overlook the subtle defiance and independence of spirit (and the quick moments of odd, deadpan humor) to be found underneath it all. In both look and feel, Jeong's work is of a piece with certain other leading figures in the current Asian cinematic new wave, and like the best examples of that new wave, Jeong creates a memorable style of her own.

Sweet but not sappy, occasionally tragic without sliding into gross manipulations - a film of great power. The Kino DVD looks great, no extras however.

-David Alston September 21, 2006

Beautiful, even with subtitles

Nice background music too.

Hauntingly lovely film -- takes us on an adventure with these girls, all trying to find their place or escape from their present fate, while still trying to remain friends.

Walks through the gritty scenery, parties on rooftops while locked out on a freezing night, and a sweet little orphan cat, ties these bonds ever so closely, even while the girls seem to drift apart.

Wish they had NOT shown that very sad cat shelter footage -- but maybe it will inspire someone to help those poor little feline waifs. Still think the world has a long way to go before it realizes the true worth of ALL living beings.

September 8, 2006

Tae-Hee-Hee-Hee!

It's a warmly felt film about the friendship of five young Korean girls among which Tee-Hee stands out as a poet and adventurer; the vagaries of fate and life, have not yet left deeper imprint on souls of these young girls but they will mature and learn about life which is what you make of it. Pedestrian? Si, es la vida. November 19, 2004

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