Five is Too Many DVD Region 3

The film begins following Dong Kyu, a loser student who has run away from home and is living with a couple of equally deadbeat friends. In an effort to make some money, he comes up with a rather bizarre scheme which involves stealing a camera and taking pictures of fast food stalls which are using illegal plastic containers. One day, while fleeing from a takeaway shop, the woman who works there throws a stone at him, which knocks him out and apparently causes a case of temporary amnesia. The woman, Shi Nae takes him home and looks after him, unfortunately unaware that Dong Kyu has no plans to leave. Even more unfortunately for the poor loner, she soon finds her little one-room apartment invaded by other down on their luck guests, including a wretched food stall owner and a young Chinese waitress. Needless to say, the disparate bunch has soon formed their own dysfunctional family unit, complete with a number of problems to be overcome and trials to be faced.

Although the plot may not sound particularly inspiring, Five is Too Many works very well as an honest slice of life which is refreshingly devoid of the kind of forced narrative cliche or heavy handed social symbolism which so often mars similar grander efforts. The film is very much driven by its characters, who are an eccentric, though believable bunch that grows on the viewer as Ahn gradually adds layers of depth, thankfully without any kind of cheap tugs at the heartstrings. Matters are helped by the fact that the capable cast members are all relative unknowns, and the film is free from the distracting presence of any stars, something which would certainly have detracted from its realism.

To be fair, the film does kind of drift along in an almost aimless fashion, though thanks to a wisely short running time and a few nicely timed scenes of gentle comedy, this approach works well enough, and again helps to make the proceedings more convincing. As might be guessed, not a great deal actually happens, with Ahn subtly focusing on the quieter aspects of the characters' relationships rather than needlessly throwing in soap-opera style shouting matches or scenes of hysterical revelations. This does make the film quite unpredictable, at least in that it never follows the expected dramatic paths, although the ending itself does feature a somewhat unnecessary resolution.

Ahn's direction is pretty solid throughout, though he does have a tendency to throw in a few unnecessary and rather forced scenes using fade edits. These, along with a couple of strange sequences in which the characters dress up in sunglasses and dark coats to perform a couple of minor acts of mischief in mock-criminal style, do stick out from the rest of the film, which is handled in a down to earth, subtle manner. Despite the obviously low budget, Ahn manages to make good use of the limited locations, especially Shi Nae's tiny flat, which the viewer comes to feel as though they inhabit along with the characters, something which adds to the growing sense of domestic tension.

It's a shame that Five is Too Many quite possibly won't be seen by as many viewers as it deserves, as it arguably offers a far more honest portrayal of family life in modern day Korea than most higher profile star vehicle releases. Although the film is quiet, Ahn certainly has plenty to say, and demonstrates enough skill both as a director and writer to mark him as a talent to watch.

by James Mudge - BeyondHollywood.com