Marketed as an erotic comedy, Lee Hae-yeong's Foxy Festival is more of a ideological exploration of sexual stereotypes and taboos with an emphasis on the aroused feelings of inferiority and shame in one's self because of society's derogatory demeanour towards those with different sexual interests. The film depicts the sexual perversions and 'indecent' behaviours that happen behind the curtains of a seemingly quiet neighbourhood.
From the widow-turned-dominatrix Soon-sim and her subordinate, the shop owner Ki-bong, through to her virgin daughter Ja-hye in pursuit of a much older man Sang-doo, apathetic to her attention because of his obsession with a doll to teacher Mr. Kim who enjoys wearing his wife's pink lingerie and, eventually, the policeman Jang-bae who is convinced he is the most gifted male in the world, only to have his confidence shattered by witnessing his subordinate's male attribute. All the characters are positioned in a world rules by sexual taboos and public decency understanding constrictions, while they are all on a path of discovering their own inner pervert.
All this is delivered in a light-hearted and very natural way without becoming perverse or far-fetched. The film is smoothly built as a hilarious entertainment, where deep sociological analysis is left for the audience to decipher and is not pushed upfront. Instead, Foxy Festival delivers an insight into the lives and personalities of its twisted characters, painting them as human beings with their own flaws and fantasies, and it is easy to empathise with them in a very natural human way. The level of judgement of all things 'indecent' is over-exaggerated to the point of being comical, as policeman Jang-bae is disgusted of all things perverse, yet he has an obsession of his own, which is the source of his over-confidence and, later, his downfall.
The scenes are packed with double entendres and hilarious representation of one's thoughts through imagery. Hilarity through absurdity is evident – in a serious conversation between Soon-sim and Mr. Kim about her daughter's strange obsession with running (both of which unaware she is selling her underwear damped with sweat), the camera angle shows both Soon-sim's S&M stilettos and the female panties' pink lace peeping out of the professor's trousers. The widow's final decision to come out of the darkness and let her passions guide her forms the ending ideology of the film, where everybody reaches collective freedom having broken social stereotypes and judgements. Her final line “Let's go to hell” depicts the finding of new confidence and removing one's shame and inferiority in the light of their sexual interests.
Shim Hye-jin depicts the widow-turned-dominatrix with exceptional subtle humour and is central in the transformation from a shameful and shy stereotyped widowed housewife into a brave and confident S&M lover who has found the source of her inner pleasures and casts aside society's judgements to walk free in the open air. The rest of the cast delivers satisfactory performances that never go out of their way to seem ridiculous, except for the over-confident policeman who enjoys a few full frontal nude shots ridiculed by comical pixelation or hilarious imagery. The film lacks in narrative construction and the story seems to be jumping between the characters sporadically, but it does not feel chaotic or disconnected.
Foxy Festival is a comical film with a surprisingly deep attitude that creates a fundamentally boundless world of unconcealed sexual secrets and desires. The characters are well developed and humanised, not just presented for cheap laughs and sexual judgement and their representation is not at all degrading. The film is indeed a rare and genuine attempt at representing the deepest hidden secrets and fantasies in a stereotypical cynical world and reaches a point of acceptance of perversions that essentially celebrates sexual variety.Labels: research |
