[HanCinema's Film Review] "Think? What's That?"

Ji-woo (played by Suh Ji-woo) is an actress who can take any job she can get, so she does. Ha-na (played by director Ha Na) is doing an advertising photoshoot, alone, in an empty office building, having to constantly reassure Ji-woo that the situation isn't as suspicious as it looks. Ha-na talks in an annoyingly cute tone of voice as if that smooths the situation over, when far more obvious red flags include the fact that the contract Ji-woo signs is just a blank piece of paper.

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The overall tone of "Think? What's That?" is more mundane than cinematic along these lines. There's no elaborate conspiracy going on or anything. The situation is exactly what it looks like, and Ji-woo knows it's exactly what it looks like, but she needs work badly enough to be willing to look past all that. Amusingly enough, despite being an actress, Ji-woo is either unwilling or unable to mask her obvious hostility to the whole situation.

Ha-na ends up being the far more engimatic character, a strong irony in and of itself since Director Ha Na achieves this by being surprisingly disinterested in her namesake's story. Every time an ongoing event forces Ha-na to divulge more about what exactly is going on at the photoshoot, she just continues the same cute hustler tone. This persists even when Ji-woo gets so agitated by the degree of subterfuge that she demands a pay raise, and it quickly becomes clear that Ha-na must be getting paid far more for the job than was implied by Ji-woo's initial fee.

Despite all this, there's a weirdly romantic subtext between the two of them. This only really gets pronounced in part three though, with Ji-woo's motivation in parts one and two primarily just to get everything over and done with so she can leave. This is obstructed by Ha-na's aggressive friendliness, and other strange behaviors. At one point Ha-na stalls for time so she can scavenge a bunch of leftover sweet-and-sour pork, even though she, not Ji-woo, is at risk of being exposed.

"Think? What's That?" is very much a student film kind of movie, but not in the way that phrase is usualy used. "Think? What's That?" isn't themed in any particularly pretentious way, it's just about the kind of people who try to get a job in media. Ji-woo constantly fights her better instincts to deal with the weird unpleasantness of the shoot, while Ha-na desperately tries to make the job work by smiling her way out of any potential conflict.

This kind of determination is necessary to succeed as an actor or director, but "Think? What's That?" frames it as awkward and unpleasant rather than as a compelling fight against the odds. "Think? What's That?" would also work as an intriguing double feature with "in water" from Hong Sang-soo, which came out a few months after. For all its weirdness, at least there's actual money involved in "Think? What's That?" which makes the story an oddly encouraging one despite the bizarre setbacks.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Think? What's That?" is directed by Ha Na, and features Suh Ji-woo, Ha Na, Kim Min-gi-II. Release date in Korea: 2023/01/25.