The Fake

Min-chul is a violent, foul-mouthed madman, hard to like, but even harder to dismiss. His valley is scheduled to be flooded to make way for a new dam. Unlike the salvation-seeking villagers who have placed their faith in a fraudulent church and their junior pastor, he refuses to be placated.
The film revolves around Min-chul, depicted as a rampaging father figure, his subservient and bigoted wife and future-oriented daughter, who has just been accepted to the university in Seoul. Relocating to the city is no option for the village elders. Symptomatic for their lethargy, the tubercular shopkeeper renounces her medication in favour of the holy water her husband procures for her.
Yeon Sang-ho’s characters are drawn in an expressionistic manner, with hate and rage virtually written all over his protagonist’s face. Nuanced and inconsistent with their outward appearance, their inner motivations take shape, nonetheless. The director masterfully blurs the line between good and evil. Set against a bleak backdrop, the plot escalates to a near biblical apocalypse, with Min-chul warning his fellow citizens like (a godless) Jeremiah preaching against the idols: a profit-oriented sect.
The young Korean director did not get discouraged after the unsecured production costs (150,000 US$) of his debut feature film “The King of Pigs.” Along the lines of the great Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, he firmly established himself as a magnificent animation filmmaker for adults with “The Fake.” His style, a combination of hand drawings and computer-generated elements, comes across as ultra-realistic, reminiscent of Ari Folman’s “Waltz with Bashir.” (rr)