The First Lap (2018)
Review of The First Lap / 초행 (2018), directed by Kim Dae-hwan
After getting my MUBI subscription, The First Lap was actually the very first movie that I had landed on. When I got that subscription, I generally didn’t know what MUBI had to offer and this was during the free trial. And, naturally, I went straight into my comfort zone, the kind of cinema I know best: Korean cinema.
The First Lap was the only one that caught my eye originally, even though I had never heard of the director before. As it turns out, this is one of his first films and he one an Emerging Director Award for his work with it.
This is a slow kind of movie that takes a certain level of empathy to get along with the story. It might shock an older generation of viewers, as it does for the parents in the film, because of how a leisure relationship where the main couple gets pregnant and then doesn’t seem to care about actually getting married. Although, as I will discuss later, then it wasn’t a compelling reason for these two to stay together.
Let’s begin this review!
A couple who’s been together for six years must face the scrutiny of their parents after getting pregnant.
The First Lap is a rather straightforward movie, with each of our characters playing a specific role. Our main couple consists of Ji-young and Soo-hyun, who, as stated before, have been together for six years. They’re clearly very comfortable with each other, even if we don’t see a shed of physical or any kind of intimacy really in this movie.
Even as she stands in the hallway and sobs at what her mother said to her, he just kind of makes fun of her and the way she’s acting emotional. That shows a specific level of familiarity between the two, as they’ve been together so long at this point we don’t need to see anything sex or physical. They’re just comfortable with each other and who they are.
The movie is often geographically or mentally set in-between stages. We get a lot of car shots in this film, or our main characters traveling from one place to another. There’s moving boxes everywhere, suggesting a physical transition, and then they’re sitting on the floor just slurping on some black bean noodles. The contrast between the lives they live also is something interesting to spectate.
Ji-young comes from a more well-off background, and, to me, it was implied that she makes more money in the relationship at her job, even if she doesn’t have a full contract from the advertising office.
Soo-hyun, however, is an meager art teacher just trying to make it in the world. Ji-young’s family is in the real estate business and they own this nice home, one that looks really expensive, and everything seems pristine and like it has a place. Until our couple comes along, then we see the cracks in the home.
Ji-young’s mother berates her for her life and choices, as well as the fact that she’s still unmarried after all this time. This leaves Ji-young literally sobbing in the hallway outside the apartment, while only Soo-hyun bothers to check up on her and her wellbeing.
This is a stark contrast to Soo-hyun’s family who live a more quaint life in the Korean countryside. While Ji-young keeps up with her family, Soo-hyun doesn’t do that at all. He’s kept no contact with them up until now, after they’ve discovered she’s pregnant.
There’s a lot of really rich, luscious shots and framing in this movie. You can see it in both of the images that I’ve selected for this blog post, but there’s quite a few scenes where our characters are framed by the objects and walls around them, making them seem smaller than they actually are.
There’s also quite a bit of scenes where the camera is placed in the backseat of the car, as if we were like a spectator intruding on their intimate conversations. This is also when we see things like when they’re arguing, she locks him out of the car as he makes comedic faces and begs to be let back in.
It’s an interesting film because it shows how there’s all this pressure on the two of them to lead this life that’s quote-on-quote normal by the older generation. But, instead, they resist against this and end up going down the “wrong path” that everything thinks they’re doomed going down. At the end of the day, as long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters.
Overall Thoughts
The First Lap is a quiet, simple movie. There’s a lot of beautiful scenes sprinkled around the domestic life ones that makes the movie more visually appealing—I enjoyed how we’d get this shots of him sulking by the ocean drunk or walking along the road at night.
I’m a sucker for good visual aesthetics so this movie has just the right amount to keep me pleased. It’s not a movie for everyone, since nothing really happens, but I think every generation could at least relate to the aspect of rebelling against what society and your parents want from you.
At the end of the day, how you live your life is your decision, not someone else’s. And I’m sure these two would be miserable if they were forced to marry. But, at the same time, I don’t think they’re a good fit. They’re too comfortable and there’s hints in tiny moments where something goes wrong or awry, but then it vanishes.
There is still this sense of uncertainty that these two will stay together even if they have the child.
