Institute History
Description
Hip, sleek, and urban, Chul-Soo Park’s 301 302 explores the mysterious disappearance of a young woman living in apartment 302 of a modern complex in Seoul. A policeman is called in to investigate. Going on what he finds out, he begins to focus on the relationship between her and the woman who lives across the hall in 301. The women are referred to throughout the film by their apartment numbers in wry reference to the anonymity of urban life; 301 (Eun-Jin Bang) is an amateur cook who spends her time preparing lavish meals for 302 (Sin-Hye Hwang), a fragile woman who becomes nauseated at the mere sight or smell of food.
Chul-Soo Park’s meticulous writing, convincing performances by the principal actors, and the thoughtful fish-eye framing of individual scenes create a remarkable, antiseptic portrait of modern apartment life in Seoul. Through a compelling series of provocative flashbacks, each as carefully composed as the dishes which 302 prepares, as well as scenes which expand and explore the bizarre relationship between the two women, we gradually learn the shocking secret of what happened to 302.