"Pascha"

Ga-eul (played byKim So-hee) is an extremely sensitive older woman living by herself with many cats. A crazy cat lady isn't an ideal life goal in any country, but it's an especially difficult trajectory for Ga-eul to justify, living in South Korea where cats tend to be thought of as wild animals. For Ga-eul, the lifestyle choice is a simple one. Reality is harsh. People, even her family, tend to be really mean. Except for Ga-eul's boyfriend Joseph (played bySeong Ho-joon). He's kind and sensitive. Joseph is also still a teenager.

Described in the abstract "Pascha" sounds terribly scandalous. But in execution the film is actually quite subdued. There's relatively little dialogue, and writer / directorAhn Sun-kyoungcommunicates most of the action with long, deliberate camerawork. Ga-eul is frequently feeling pangs of grief. A visit to the veterinarian brings both Ga-eul and Joseph to a state of serious distress over the fate of a beloved cat, who they have clearly become very attached to.

On one end the scene looks utterly ridiculous. On the other end, if you have ever known or personally loved a cat, well...it's all really quite touching. While the plot point is a simple one, like everything else in "Pascha", the purpose of any individual scene isn't to communicate story but rather to provide a vehicle forKim So-heeto emote and communicate Ga-eul's feelings of loneliness. It's this expression, more than any passion or sexuality, that defines Ga-eul's relationship with Joseph.

Their story seems to be a tragic one. At one instance the point is broached that Ga-eul is committing a crime by being with Joseph, which is probably technically true. During the runtime of "Pascha", there probably wasn't any way to really resolve the social problems presented by their relationship. I don't see this as an indictment of society so much as an acknowledgment of the fact that things don't work out just because we want them to, and for Ga-eul, controversy and guilt are so antithetical to her personality and lifestyle that fighting with her family just defeats the purpose.

But hope yet remains. At least, that's how I choose to interpret the close of the movie. Strictly speaking the ending is just the story of how Ga-eul and Joseph first met. On the surface level it appears to be a mockery of the best of times when we know that the worst of times is just around the corner. Yet what exactly is happiness anyway, except a brief fleeting moment before the crush of worldly despair begins to bear down once more?

While "Pascha" isn't exactly pleasant viewing, there's a definite joy in the film's more pleasant moments that's only made possible by Ga-eul's understanding of sadness. Would she have ever met or understood Ga-eul, if they weren't both so heavily attached to caring for others, as a sort of proxy for caring about themselves? If not for the occassional browbeating of their families, would either Ga-eul or Joseph have been able to understand what it is their hearts truly yearn for? That is the kind of love so well presented by writer / director Ahn Sun-kyoung- and that is the kind of showcase that makes the imagery in "Pascha" so truly heartbreaking.

Review by William Schwartz

"Pascha" is directed byAhn Sun-kyoungand featuresKim So-hee,Seong Ho-joonandSin Yeon-sook.