The South Korean dark comedy Cobweb begins with black-and-white Gothic horror-type scenes from the film Cobweb. Kim Jee-woon’s film-within-a-film is a frantic, fun-filled ode to the madness involved in filmmaking.
The 2023 movie from the director of The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008) and I Saw the Devil (2010) is set in the 1970s. The monochrome scenes are from the latest movie by veteran director Kim Ki-yeol (Song Kang-ho). Dismissed for trashy fare, Kim is desperate to improve his reputation among critics and audiences, but most of all himself.
Kim’s solution comes at a price that he will make others pay. Convinced that the ending for his movie Cobweb isn’t working, Kim dragoons his team into a reshoot that drives everybody up the wall.
Kim is convinced that he going to make “a masterpiece that shows humanity’s irrational nature”. The unreasonable elements on the sets include Kim himself. Only Kim’s producer Mido (Jeon Yeo-been) shares his belief that his decision to change Cobweb’s original climax is correct (“It’s like a grotesque Kafka novel,” Mido exults).
There’s no shortage of drama. A pair of co-stars is in the middle of an affair that is threatening to implode. A method acting-obsessed cast member who is frequently cast as a detective has a prison cell at home to stay in character. A visit by a government censor adds to the mayhem.
The beautifully produced film is available on Prime Video. Cobweb provides a different view of South Korean cinema from the gangster thrillers, sentimental romances and arthouse dramas that are available on Indian streaming platforms. Despite being lengthy and laying on the farce a too thickly, Cobweb is an entertaining trip through South Korean cinema in the 1970s.
An excellent cast lays on the histrionics. The brilliant actor Song Kang-ho has just the right tone – which is halfway between self-satire and self-delusion. The Parasite star has a staggering range, and in this movie, he is perfect as the director who gets trapped in the same web he seeks to spin around his viewers.
