Jung-Chul Hur

Frantic 05:21, Color, Stereo, KR, 2004

The footage in this film comes from a coastal town in Thailand called Bang Poo. The place is well-known for having an abundance of migratory gulls and terns. It is also a popular domestic tourist destination famous for its seafood restaurants. The footage was digitally modified and duplicated, and, through mirrored imagery, alluding to a kaleidoscopic hole. In the beginning, we, the viewers, can anticipate images of bird motion. However, soon after the image of the birds starts to create a visual vortex. The viewer encounters a massive bombardment of these images. Sounds were recorded at the same time as the images were filmed. Thai viewers will understand that some voices in the film are of children shouting mostly about food as if they were in a feeding frenzy much like the birds. The film takes a benign view towards the subject allowing the viewer to identify with the film’s frenetic activity.