Steve Pulaski
Joung Yumi's Love Games, a South Korean animated short film, follows a couple as they go throw a series of intimate rituals they perform on a large patch of ground marked by a charcoal rock. Through these rituals, they experience the tender moments of teasing, hurting, comforting, loving, and most importantly, basking in the company of each other thanks to unconventional tactics. One ritual involves a piece of yarn being tied around the center of what looks like a buttercookie. The ring also has a bell on it, and after both the man and the woman blindfold themselves, both of them try to direct the cookie in front of them so one of them can have a chance to eat it. Another image involves a hide and seek game that takes place entirely inside the chalk-drawn box, with the man blindfolded and the woman moving inside the box, avoiding being touched by her husband. The simplicity of the rituals is only complemented by the simplicity of the animation. It's entirely black and white, with the occasional texture provided by an object like a coffee cup, or a plate, or even the woman's purse. The entire project mirrors a beautiful art project or even a sketch drawing, and its overall inoffensiveness provides for a quick, beautiful little endeavor that surprises when it hits an emotional stride in the last couple minutes.Directed by: Joung Yumi.
