Indie Movie Conquers Loca Cinema 2

``Daytime Drinking,'' a mini-budget road movie, is creating hype even before its release.

``Daytime Drinking'' debuted at the 9th Jeonju International Film Festival and went on to win awards at several overseas events, including Locarno last year. A triumph of creativity over pitifully meager resources, the movie is receiving as much media spotlight as anticipated blockbusters. It is a breath of fresh air for Korean cinema, which has seen the failure of many expensive, star-studded ventures.

I met with director Noh Young-seok to laugh about his ticklishly funny road movie. He was such nice guy, who resembles his protagonist :)

``Daytime Drinking'' shows that drinking in the middle of the day will most likely lead to trouble. For the heterosexual male, a pretty woman, even if she has sinister intentions, will be another temptation that's hard to resist.

It all began with a drink. Hearbroken Hyeok-jin has a round of soju with his friends. They suggest a trip to Jeongseon, a popular destination in Gangwon Province. The next morning, however, his friends are hung over and Hyeok-jin is the only one that shows up. But he isn't out of luck, as a pretty young woman, also traveling solo, approaches him.

But seaside in the winter turns out to be far from romantic. Hyeok-jin ends up wearing only his underwear in the middle of the highway, and if that didn't seem bad enough he meets more strangers whose first impressions turn out to be rather deceiving after some booze.

The 32-year-old director was inspired to write the script during his own stay at a boarding house in Jeongseon. ``It was wintertime and I was lonely. Soju was my only companion and I wondered what would happen if a pretty woman who's also traveling alone stayed next door,'' Noh Young-seok told The Korea Times.

``I made the film with friends as if we were having fun on a trip,'' he said. Shot digitally in 13 days with just 10 million won ($10,000), ``Daytime Drinking'' nevertheless made it to international events alongside last year's blockbuster ``The Good, the Bad, the Weird.'' It also inspired curiosity about soju among foreign viewers.Critics praised the movie as ``proof that a good script and simpatico direction and performances can overcome budgetary restrictions'' (Variety magazine). The central theme of daytime drinking originated from trying to save money, so as not to worry about lighting at night.

After failing one movie script competition after another, Noh decided to make a movie on his own with friends he met at a local film academy. ``It was a matter of survival, and I was focused on just finishing the movie,'' he said. The director did everything from the writing and shooting to editing, as well as playing a cameo as the restaurant owner. The original film score comes from an old album Noh made when he tried, and failed, to become a professional musician.

``Cinema is the best form of self-expression, for now,'' he said. ``I just hope the audience can enjoy `Daytime Drinking' lightheartedly, without the prejudice that indie flicks are serious and experimental.

``Independent films need to become diverse, with their own set of genres ranging from horror to dramas and thrillers,'' he continued. He does not have concrete plans about his next piece, though he wants to continue making small budget digital films with commercial appeal.

``I hope viewers will be inspired to go have a round of drinks with friends,'' he said. ``Daytime Drinking'' is now showing in theaters. 115 minutes. 15 and over. Distributed by Jin Jin.