Review of 301, 302

301, 302 (1995)
8/10
That is a lot of red meat
30 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Director: Park Cheol-su Duration: 100 Minutes

301/302 opens with an investigator visiting the residence of 301, a recently divorced woman who is a master chef, after the disappearance of 302 because she is the one who last saw the missing woman. Unperturbed, 301 invites the investigator to have some fried chicken which he states is the best he ever tasted. The film then goes into a series of flashbacks, showing when 301 moved into her apartment neighboring that of 302. A boisterous, talkative woman is a bit put off by the coldness of her neighbor who prefers to not utter a single word than to accept 301's greetings. However, 302's coldness, and her slender figure, entices 301 to get to know her better, so she cooks 302 a mouthwatering meal. Yet, after 301 departs, 302 tosses the food into the fridge and hurries to the restroom to vomit as if the mere sight of food makes her sick. 301 continues to bring 302 food and each dish ends up in the garbage. After discovering this, 301 tries to force 302 to eat the food, but 302 explains that she cannot eat that her body rejects the food. She also cannot engage in sex because of similar reasons. She states that she has a great filth inside of her that does not allow her to enjoy food or sex and she wishes her body would disintegrate.

After learning this, 301 continues to make more food, foods that she terms to be tender, but no matter how well prepared 302 cannot eat the food and always vomits it all up. After awhile the viewer finally learns 302's dark past. However, she is not the only one with a dark past. Why is 301 so insistent that 302 eats her food? It seems that 302 is not the only one with issues.

The two main themes of 301/302 are food and sexuality. 302 is unable to enjoy or indulge in food or sex while 301 is fond of both. However, because of her rocky marriage and later her divorce she is unable to engage in a fulfilling sexual life so she indulges in food instead. Yet she is not just overeating, she is literally engorging herself with food gaining more than half her bodyweight. 302, on the other hand, is wasting away because of her fears associated with food and sex. A complex, dark film, 301/302 is quite a thought provoking film, but one that should definitely not be watched after enjoying a big meal.
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