I Eat, Therefore I Am (Cheol-ha Lee, 2015): So. Korea

Reviewed by Wayne Derossett.  Viewed at the 2016 Santa Barbara Film Festival, Wednesday, February 10 at 6:00:00 PM in the Metro 4 theater.

This was the U.S. premier of I Eat, Therefore I Am.  This film is also known by the Korean title Eating Existence (2015) or 먹는 존재 (meok-neun jun-jae).

Young-mi An (also known as Yeong-mi Ahn, or Young-mi Ahn) was a surprise and delight in this playful story about Yoo Yang, a young Korean woman who suddenly finds herself unemployed following an alcohol-infused faux pax while dining out with co-workers and her boss.  The story continues to build and evolve around her need for money and sustenance as she attempts her new dream job in a career as a free-lance writer.

The lead, Young-mi Ahn, gets her comedic timing from her background as a stand-up comedienne, and also starred in the TV show Happy Together.  She was also a cast member of the variety show Real Men.

While food is an important story element, this is not a story about food.  The mouth-teasing film title may bring out the foodies like moths to a flame, but this is more of a romantic comedy, with food as a lover.  But that’s not to say there are no men in her life. Au contraire!  She is of the ‘Sampo’ generation, who gave up on three things; courtship, marriage, and childbirth.

It’s a fun film to watch with plenty of great laughs and a brisk pacing that keeps you engaged and entertained.  Screenplay writing credit goes to Ok-soo-dong Dal-pil (옥수동달필).

The director, Lee Cheol-ha (이철하), comes from a background in TV commercial production and music videos.  He trained at the Academy of Art University film school in San Fransisco.  His credits include:

• Love Me Not (2006) – his directorial debut
• Story of Wine (2008)
• Stray Cats (2009)

My only complaint with I Eat, Therefore I Am was a lack of contrast with some of the subtitles in the beginning.  I found them very hard to read, and a few were too difficult to get through before the next scene arrived.  The problem seemed to resolve itself within a few minutes as the story progressed so either they found more background contrast, or my eyes finally adapted. A drop shadow font could have remedied this problem nicely.

Four stars.  I am eagerly awaiting a theatrical or DVD release of I Eat, Therefore I Am so that my other friends can enjoy it, and I’ll be looking for the bright Young-mi An in future films.