Review of La Belle (2000 Film):

This movie was so weird. For the most part it didn’t make a lick of sense.

La Belle (starring Oh Ji-ho) contains captivating expressions that reflect Roland Barthes’ concept of neutrality, something that is open and noncommittal. It exposes the audience to the passionate experiences of two star-crossed characters so much that they become lost within the scenes. Such loss of self or immersion allows the audience to experience a string of emotions outside the social realm, free from cultural constraints.

La Belle is a novelistic form of rhetoric that challenges the audience’s views of the social constructs of love without asserting any definitive meaning. It presents the fictionalized reflections of a young melancholic writer seeking to identify, and be identified by, a lovely model whose personal life he knows little about, and who does not love him at all. While his obsession is open to criticism, his unrequited love evokes empathy.

Very light on plot, the leads had no chemistry whatsoever, the acting was wooden … at best. There were some beautiful shots, but the story went for a walk and never came back. I think the problem lies in the premise of the film – a woman randomly walks into a stranger’s apartment and begins a sporadic affair with him. Each time the woman’s cell phone rings she’d disappear for days then return without explanation. Baffled and unable to help his fascination with the mysterious woman, the hero takes her in each time even though he knows next to nothing about her since she flat out refuses to tell him anything meaningful about herself.

He wonders, like we do, whether she’s high or just crazy due to some very bizarre and erratic behaviour. Why he falls so hopelessly, head over heels in love with her is anybody’s guess. She basically leads him around like a dog on a leash and not in cute romantic way. The entire film resulted in him trying to solve the puzzle that was this woman. Problem is, though, her story wasn’t interesting enough to hold my attention. In fact, I thought it was rather ridiculous.