Review

Planet of Snail

Rating: Three stars

You won’t find a love story more unique or beautifully understated than Korean director Yi Seung-jun’s moving, matter-of-fact documentary glimpse into the day-to-day lives of Young-Chan, a lanky writer who can speak, but is deaf and blind, and Soon-Ho, his much shorter wife with a growth-arresting spinal condition who communicates with him by tapping on his fingers. Nothing much happens, which seems to be the point. Peppered with gentle humour, the film’s strength lies in its ability to evoke, mercifully free of sentimentality, the South Korean couple’s deep affection and devotion to one another as they perform everyday tasks most take for granted. A poetic, lyrical and sensual succession of scenes from a marriage, it’s a quietly affecting meditation on the challenges and wonders of living with a disability. Filmgoers with short attention spans might feel more exasperated than enlightened, however.

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