Review Of The Film Cobweb (2023): Portrait Of The Director's Struggle Brings Dreams To Life

Song Kang Ho (Newnson E&A)

JAKARTA - The Korea Indonesia Film Festival (KIFF) 2023 was officially held on Thursday, October 19. At this 14th event, the festival opened the event with the screening of the film Cobweb from director Kim Jee Won.

The film Cobweb presents a story about the struggle of a director in making his latest film. The process behind the production of the film which later became the intrigue of the director's story with his life.

This film was first screened at the Cannes Film Festival and received 11 minutes of standing ovation. This film is also one of the titles competing in broadcasts in South Korea today.

Set in the 70s, Cobweb tells the story of Kim Yeol (Song Kang Ho) who debuts with a good film but then gets bullied because the films he makes next are called trash. He is determined to make a masterpiece film by presenting various stories in it.

Kim Yeol has just finished filming his latest film. One day, he dreams of ending the story of the film he made. When he wakes up, he thinks of having to realize the dream because he thinks the dream is a signal that the film will be good with such endings.

It turns out that shooting is not that easy. The head of the production house, Baek (Jang Young Nam) refused the idea of re-shooting Kim Yeol because they needed money. Kim then asked Mido (Jeon Yeo Been), Baek's nephew to allow re-shooting in the next two days.

Mido, who agreed and supported Kim, also contacted the censorship agency and they were rejected because the ending of the story was not in line with the government's thinking. Kim Yeol is determined to keep re-shooting by asking for the production to be carried out secretly.

Conflict doesn't just stop there. The actors also have conflicts with each other and make the production process even more introductory. Can director Kim re-shoot so that the film can be accepted by the public?

The film Cobweb presents two sides, both from film scenes and real events experienced by Kim by distinguishing colors. As a result, the audience can also see the results of the film recorded by director Kim and know the process.

Because it is set in the 70s, film production is made with a directing that still looks ancient, such as taking close-up scenes, one take, to using the effects of fire or rain to turn on the scene.

The film is entertaining even though the narrative that was built seems extended. There are several sub-plots that make the duration of Cobweb too long. Especially when there is a new plot in the middle of the story also raises new mysteries.

Cobweb is a forum for Kim Jee Won in expressing various genres in it, from comedy, satirical, to romance, it feels very well worked on in this film.

This factor is also supported by the ensembles of players who show their best portion, ranging from Song Kang Ho, Im Soo Jung, Oh Jung Se, Jeon Yeo Been, and Krystal Jung. However, it can be said that Jeon Yeo Been, Song Kang Ho, and Krystal Jung's acting is the most interesting.

Through this film, the audience knows how a director struggles in making films in the '70s' era. Apart from focusing on the story, they also get supervision from the censorship side so that their wild ideas can not always be realized easily.

This meta-commentary film is a fresh and fun spectacle. But please note that Kim Jee Won's film Cobweb has no correlation with the film Cobweb from the United States which airs this year.

The film Cobweb is currently showing in Indonesian cinemas with a rating of 17+.