‘The Table’ is a Korean film that was released in 2017. It’s not a blockbuster or an action film, there aren’t any superheroes or big chase scenes. It is however, a small little indie film that feels very precious in its fragileness.
Kim Jong Kwan both wrote and directed the film. He worked on ‘Walking At Night’, one of the segments of the Netflix series ‘Persona’.
The story takes place in one location, a small little coffee shop. You know when you have those moments where you randomly overhear a conversation?You’re sitting down, having your cup of coffee, not particularly in the mood to browse through the apps on our phone or to listen to music. You’re very present in the moment and then you can’t help but follow someone else’s conversation. It feels a little like that.
The film is divided into four conversations. I’ll go through them one by one.
Conversation 1
The first conversation is between a successful actress and her ex-boyfriend from a long time ago. The actress portrayed by Jung Yu-Mi who was in the K-drama ‘Live‘ and the ex-boyfriend Jung Joon-Won who was also in the film ‘Little Forest’. What I found interesting was the awkwardness between them and the long pauses. They don’t really have anything to talk about because it feels like they’ve been living their own lives for quite a few years.
The man seems more interested in her dating rumours than how her life really is now. She has no particular interest in him, but she seems to have agreed to meet up for old times sake. It seems like all he really wanted was a picture with her to prove to his co-workers that he did indeed used to date this famous actress.
Conversation 2
The second conversation is between two people who had a one night stand before he left and travelled the world for a couple of months. This interaction, despite its awkwardness in the beginning, seems to be all about seeing if they could have something real, something precious between the two of them, something to look forward to. The woman is portrayed by Jung Eun-Chae and the man by Jeon Sung-Woo.
I really liked this part. They don’t really know each other that well and the girl is a bit upset that he left the way he did. But he pulls out all the little souvenirs he bought for her, showing that he always had her in mind while he roamed around. I thought that was just the sweetest thing.
Conversation 3
The third conversation left me with a lot of intrigue. This time it’s two women talking to each other. The young woman played by Han Ye-Ri has hired the older woman portrayed by Kim Hye-Ok to pretend to be her mother for her wedding.
This one left me with so many questions. I legit would watch an entire K-drama about this little plot. The young woman seems to have a lot of money and is marrying a poor man because she does love him ‘for now’. At one point the young woman says something along the lines of ‘In my line of work I don’t know any good people’ and I want to know so much more. She has fleshed out an entire storyline for the older woman she hired. She also seems really interesting. She briefly mentions that she went to prison one year and missed her daughter’s wedding because of that. It was an absolutely intriguing and heartwarming part of ‘The Table’.
Conversation 4
The fourth and last conversation is between two exes. The man portrayed by Yeon Woo-Jin has some lingering feelings for the woman played by Lim Soo-Jung. She’s getting married in the fall, but obviously still wants him too. However, it would only be for a fling, not for the real deal.
The woman is clearly not in love with her soon-to-be husband but is also not willing to give up her lifestyle for the one she’s really in love with. It’s an interesting dichotomy and makes for an even more interesting conversation.
Overall
I thoroughly enjoyed this little slice of life movie with some amazing actors and actresses. ‘The Table’ is a great watch if you’re into Korean films and even if you’re not a regular Korean film watcher. It reminds me a lot of the times I went to small little independent movie theatres in the city, usually there were only a handful of people watching it with me. Sometimes I even had the entire theatre for myself.
Indie movies can be really great sometimes and deserve as much of an audience as blockbuster movies do. So go ahead and try this one out. It’s definitely a slow-burner and you don’t get the information handfed, but it’s absolutely worth it.
Though I do have to mention one pet peeve. None of them actually finished their coffees and I feel like that’s an absolute waste. The second couple even had a little delicious looking lava cake that they didn’t even touch. What a shame.
If you’re based in the US, you can find the movie on Amazon here.
You can find the trailer for the Korean film ‘The Table’ here, though I do have to mention it doesn’t have any subtitles.
