Synopsis
In Free Maiden, director KIM Ki Young bends his unique perspective on the relationship among an unfettered young woman brimming with sexual energy, a financial wizard of a wife, and an aged and impotent man. But unlike his previous works, this movie replaces much of the metaphor and symbolism with provocative depictions of sex. It also shows another side of AHN So Young, who shot to stardom as a sex symbol in the Ae-ma Woman series. Hye Ri, influenced by her studies in Spain, advocates the free satisfaction of sexual needs without romantic feelings. Arguing that this allows her to focus on her research, she sleeps with a different man each night and continues her studies with an uncluttered head. But when she falls for a zoologist with a passion for butterflies, she abandons her sexual philosophy and obsesses over him. As with KIM’s other male characters, the zoologist is weak and indecisive. He submits totally to his wife, who holds the financial reins. But the women in Free Maiden do not preserve their strong characters or obsessions to the end, unlike KIM’s other female characters. Hye Ri, who seemed far beyond the conventions of Korean society at first, devolves into an ordinary woman by committing to a colleague who was always critical of her, once the zoologist abandons her. KIM always spotlighted the class implications of such relationships in his movies, but here he stops at attributing sexual freedom to foreignness and having Hye Ri voluntarily give up her beliefs. (CHO Hye Young)