Description

Hanna is hopelessly obese, though her physical appearance is completely unknown to the men she speaks to as a phone-sex operator, or the people who hear her magnificent singing voice –- Hanna moonlights as the true, behind-the-scenes voice of pretty but talentless pop star Ammy. Thing is, Hanna has a huge crush on her boss, Ammy’s producer, Sang-Jun. Everyone knows it too, so a jealous Ammy sets Hanna up for a humiliation in front of Sang-Jun and their colleagues. Weeping in disgrace in the bathroom, Hanna overhears Ammy and Sang-Jun’s dismissive conversation about her, and is driven to a radical decision. With the help of a somewhat sleazy doctor, she embarks on a long-term, total makeover through plastic surgery. When she emerges, Hanna is rake-thin, delicate and stunningly pretty. In her new identity, she makes her way back into Sang-Jun’s music company and soon commands great attention –- she may even be the perfect talent to replace Ammy. But her lovely voice has lost the soulful spark that loneliness once brought. Is Hanna’s supposedly perfect new existence too good to be true?

Plastic surgery and the artificial remaking of the individual are a major concern in Korea these days. For public figures, it’s almost unthinkable to not have “work” done, and moral, ethical and social worries cluster around this development. Several Korean films at Fantasia this year tap into this current, including Like a Virgin, Time and Hanna’s tale, 200 Pounds Beauty (adapted from manga by Japan’s Yumiko Suzuki). The latter was a smash box-office hit in Korea, attracting momentous attention and getting tongues wagging about the issue of plastic surgery and body image. No mere laugh-at-the-chubby-one fat-suit comedy (though actress Kim Ah-jung does a great job in both her incarnations here), 200 Pounds Beauty asks some difficult questions about social mores in Korea, and moreover about the dubious idea of reinventing oneself –- we are who we are, the film says, not who we wish we could be –- and does so stylish, witty and capable fashion.

—Rupert Bottenberg

"Lee Joon-Ik's The King and The Clown swept the 43rd Grand Bell Awards last year (2006), so it comes as no surprise that Bong Joon-ho's The Host should figure prominently in this year's ceremony. While the Grand Bell Awards seems to choose films based on popularity -- this year's edition focuses on three huge hits -- 200 Pound Beauty, The Host and War of Flower..." -Twitch news-

Website

http://www.sline2006.com/

Credits

Director: Kim Yong-hwa
Screenplay: No Hye-yeong
Cast: Kim Ah-jung Ju Jin-mo Kim Yong-geon Kim Hyeon-sook Im Hyeon-sik
Producers: KM Culture Co.Ltd., REALies
Distributor: KM Culture Co.Ltd.