This blog post will deeply examine how the film “Failan” maintained the traditional excess of melodrama while achieving a new genre balance through restraint in mise-en-scène, music, and emotional expression.
Introduction
The Melodrama Genre and Men
The suppression of men’s tears has long dominated Korean society. I, too, remember lifting my head toward the ceiling in theaters, blinking my eyes to dry my tears, determined not to cry. While we now live in an era where men possessing both masculine and feminine qualities are positively evaluated, the gaze directed at men who show their tears remains unfavorable. I experienced this reality firsthand. Back then, I couldn’t cry openly and proudly, and almost every other man in the theater seemed no different from me. So why do I like melodramas, even while secretly crying in this so-called ‘unseemly’ manner? Perhaps it’s because I, too, as a man, harbor a desire to unleash my suppressed emotions.
Melodrama is rooted in tragic sentiment. Rather than revealing suppressed emotions and social shocks through direct language, it is a genre that conveys them through the emotional and indirect language of tragic love between men and women. Just as some prefer metaphorical poetry over prose, those who seek to view the world through tragic love stories, discover their own repressed emotions, and heal wounds through tears turn to melodrama.
Generally, audiences who enjoy melodrama anticipate an emotional explosion—a flood of tears—while watching the film. Here, tears signify an emotional excess rarely experienced in daily life. This very expectation serves as one indicator for gauging melodrama’s traditional genre characteristics. Melodrama can be called the genre of emotional excess. As Peter Brooks pointed out in 1984, identifying “the desire to express everything” as a fundamental characteristic of melodramatic form, this means that an element of excess is inherent within melodrama’s genre attributes.
In the case of Korea, even before film genres were formally established, it already possessed its own unique tradition known as Sinpa drama. Sinpa drama is a theatrical form developed based on the Korean sentiment of han, an exaggerated form of expression that can be considered an art form of maximized exaggeration. In early Korean cinema, this Sinpa sensibility played a crucial role in forming the foundation of the melodrama genre. The melodramatic excess of emotion found commonly in both Korea and the West has strongly appealed to audience sentiment, despite differing cultural contexts. This very point is likely why people have consistently loved melodrama.
Is it due to the premodern perception that women are more emotional and irrational, or is it because of our society’s unique structure of male emotional suppression? For a long time, the view that melodrama was a ‘female genre’ was dominant. However, melodrama possesses the characteristic of being easily combined with other genres. As a result, it has combined with various genres such as fantasy, action, noir, and gangster films, producing numerous subgenres. This evolution became even more pronounced with the emergence of new melodramatic films following the 1997 financial crisis.
While not universally true, melodramas from this period, exemplified by “August Christmas,” are evaluated as moving away from overt patriarchal ideology and breaking free from conventional narrative frameworks in their resolution. These works also tended to place men at the center of tragic love stories, marginalizing women. The social backdrop of the IMF economic crisis undeniably played a significant role in this shift. The sentiments of economic insecurity and loss, intertwined with the cracking of masculinity, formed a new melodramatic sensibility. It was at the peak of this transformation of melodramatic imagery—a trend transcending the existing perception of women’s cinema—that I encountered “Failan.”
Reasons for Choosing “Failan”
In early 2001, I found myself torn between two films at the theater. Two melodramas I loved were playing back-to-back. One was Director Song Hae-seong’s “Failan,” the other Director Oh Ki-hwan’s “The Gift.” Initially, I chose “The Gift” because it featured an actress I usually liked. I wept profusely throughout the film and left the theater feeling emotionally cleansed and satisfied.
Shortly after, I watched “Failan.” Unlike “The Gift,” I didn’t cry much during the screening. Instead, I was struck by a profound emotional impact. Even as time passed into 2007, and up to today, I still hold “Failan” closer to my heart. Released in 2001, this work is still cited over 20 years later as a crucial turning point in Korean melodrama. It is regarded as director Song Hae-sung’s signature piece and an indispensable work in actor Choi Min-sik’s filmography.
As director Song Hae-sung himself mentioned, the melodrama “Failan” I experienced was unmistakably a man’s film. While a melodrama, this work actively borrows characteristics from other genres. Whereas “The Gift,” released the same year, relatively faithfully followed the grammar of traditional melodrama, “Failan” pioneered new ground through genre blending and variation. “The Gift” reveals emotions abundantly from the early to mid-portion through narrative, dialogue, and the actors’ performances. The traditional melodrama style, where emotional excess is prominently placed, is fully alive here.
In contrast, “Failan,” while containing traditional melodrama elements, stands out for its restraint in expression and screen composition. Its overall dark color palette, spatial utilization, and narrative structure—which adapts the character transformation plot from gangster films—make this work unique. 2001 was a period when gangster action and comedy films flooded the market following the success of “Friend.” However, “Failan’s” gangster character, Kang Jae, was fundamentally different from existing gangster film characters. He is portrayed not as a figure of bravado and violence, but as someone gradually transformed by loss and emptiness.
While restraining excessive expression, the film evokes emotions akin to watching a melodrama through its restrained imagery and sentiment. Instead of blatantly forcing tears, it taps into the audience’s inner feelings through the accumulation of subdued emotions. Many viewers, especially male audiences, deeply empathized with and enthusiastically embraced “Failan.” The film resonated so strongly with male viewers that a “Failan Lovers’ Club” was once formed.
Ultimately, within the melodrama genre and from a male perspective, I witnessed another possibility through “Failan.” It confirmed that films exist which can deeply shake us without revealing tears, which create greater resonance through restraint rather than excess, and which stare directly at a man’s wounds and transformation. This experience is the most honest answer to why I still seek out melodrama, and why I hold “Failan” in such special regard.
Evidence of melodramatic excess in “Failan”
The tragic heroine
Among melodrama’s genre conventions, a key perspective on characterization is that figures defined by social and class contexts inevitably face tragedy due to those constraints. “Failan”’s character setup follows this framework relatively faithfully. The pairing of a female lead—a Chinese woman with a terminal illness—and a male lead—a third-rate hoodlum—may seem somewhat clichéd.
Their meeting gains plausibility from Failan’s status as an undocumented immigrant, the spatial backdrop of Incheon where Kang Jae lives, and his social background as a third-rate thug. Their relationship is grounded from the outset in the intersection of characters positioned on the social periphery. And through their tragic love—even if it takes a form somewhat different from love in the conventional sense—the film indirectly reveals issues within the social context. This structure can be seen as a setting that maintains the basic framework of melodrama.
Evidence of Excess: Flashbacks and Asymmetry of Information
Melodrama is a genre that frequently employs flashbacks. While flashbacks disrupt traditional narrative structure by deconstructing linear plots, they are highly effective devices for heightening emotion. In “Failan,” the narrative unfolding from the moment Kang Jae accepts Yong Sik’s request and subsequently hears of Failan’s death is constructed entirely through a series of flashbacks.
As Kang Jae begins his journey by train to Gangwon Province, the audience encounters Failan through these flashbacks. These scenes gradually heighten the tragic sentiment, and Failan’s affectionate attitude toward Kang Jae reaches a point where the audience identifies with him.
Furthermore, the flashbacks create an asymmetry of information. While the audience already knows Failan’s true feelings and the hardships of her life, Kang Jae only comes to realize them belatedly. We follow the narrative possessing more information than the characters themselves, and it is precisely this gap in knowledge that creates an emotional chasm, enabling a deeper emotional experience. This device functions as a form of melodramatic excess.
Unrealistic Coincidences
“Failan” is praised for achieving considerable realism in its portrayal of the character Kang Jae. However, melodramatic elements remain detectable within Failan’s narrative arc. For instance, the setup where Failan leaves the bar for a relatively simple reason to work at a laundry in Gangwon Province, the clichéd scene where he falls ill, coughs up blood, and meets his death, and the somewhat stereotypical characterizations of those around Failan reveal melodramatic traits: an excess of coincidence and the repetition of extraordinary events.
Thus, “Failan” exhibits a dual nature: while aiming for realism, it simultaneously employs excessive coincidence and dramatic devices. Precisely at this point, the film positions itself as a work that varies the melodrama tradition without completely breaking free from it.
The Virtue of “Failan”: ‘Restraint’
Restraint in Cinematography
First, the overall color palette of “Failan” is muted and dark. Traces of deliberately restrained bright lighting are detectable in nearly every scene. The opening sequence utilizing black-and-white imagery also functions as a device reinforcing this emotional restraint. This can be interpreted as a directorial strategy aiming to approach the audience by suppressing rather than overtly heightening emotions.
Second, close-ups are rarely seen in this film. Instead of emphasizing exaggerated emotional expression, it consistently employs relatively normal angles and generous shots. The use of wide lenses is prominent, and scenes using zoom lenses are few and far between. This filming style encourages observation from a certain distance rather than forcing an enlargement of the characters’ emotions. This can be seen as a characteristic that steps back from melodramatic excess.
Third, the film frequently employs compositions that observe the characters’ lives from outside a window. Kang-jae and Failan’s daily routines are captured as if the camera were watching from a fixed distance. The audience experiences a sense of silently following their lives rather than immersing themselves in them. This restrains the excessive identification that flashbacks and coincidental devices might otherwise create.
Fourth, the use of long takes in certain scenes is striking. The long take used in the scene where Kang-jae drinks with Yong-sik after being beaten, or the scene where Kyung-soo and Kang-won get into a scuffle while drinking at a street stall, objectifies the situation and tempers the audience’s emotional excess. While cutting into smaller segments could have fragmented and amplified the emotions, the deliberate choice of a single long take exceeding four minutes carries a clear directorial intent. This represents an attitude that opts for the lingering of emotion rather than its explosive release.
Musical Restraint
“Failan” also exhibits restraint in its use of music. Just as the term “melodrama” itself derives from the Greek melos (song) and drama (play), music has functioned as a crucial element in this genre.
However, in “Failan,” music doesn’t truly emerge until about 20 minutes in, excluding the prologue. By progressing a significant portion of the narrative without music, it avoids artificially steering the direction of emotion. While the prominence of Failan’s presence in the latter half does increase the musical score’s presence somewhat, overall its use remains extremely restrained.
For instance, compared to director Kwak Jae-yong’s melodrama “Classic,” where music actively drives the narrative’s emotional waves, the musical approach in “Failan” can clearly be evaluated as a bold choice of restraint.
Other Genres’ Conventions Found in “Failan”
The film “Failan” incorporates diverse genre elements that prevent it from being simply defined as a melodrama. Above all, it clearly possesses gangster elements.
Kang Jae differs from the typical ambitious anti-hero of gangster films. He doesn’t dream of grand power or ascending to the top of an organization. Yet beneath his bruised pride lies a desire for success. While protagonists in other gangster films struggle to become the top dog, Kang Jae transforms this ambition into the modest dream of buying a boat and returning to his hometown.
Then, an opportunity arises to fulfill his dream, independent of his own efforts. By taking the blame for boss Yong-sik’s murder, he gains the power to speak his mind to the juniors who once looked down on him. Yet this opportunity proves not a true ascent, but a path leading to ruin. Ultimately, Kang-jae rejects Yong-sik’s proposal and meets his death. This plot aligns with the archetypal structure of gangster films. It mirrors the narrative arc where an ambitious character encounters an opportunity for advancement, only to meet a tragic end due to internal fractures, betrayal, or moral awakening.
Simultaneously, the film possesses elements of a journey narrative. Kang-jae reaffirms his identity through his journey to Gangwon Province. In the process of belatedly realizing Failan’s existence—who tells him to thank himself for living as a third-rate thug and hoodlum, and calls him the kindest person—he reassembles the self he had abandoned. The journey becomes not merely a physical movement but a catalyst for growth.
Through this journey, Kang-jae rediscovers his value and identity, reneging on his promise to Yong-sik—the most significant event before Failan’s arrival. He then resolves to return to his hometown. This structure overlays a coming-of-age narrative onto the emotional arc of a melodrama.
Other Reasons “Failan” is Captivating
The Tragic Love of a Man and Woman Who Never Met
“Failan” features a unique premise: its two protagonists never properly meet, save for a fleeting moment. It’s hard to imagine a melodrama where the male and female leads never meet at all. They never spoke to each other, nor did they exchange letters.
Nevertheless, the film constructs their relationship as a clear form of love. Instead of actual meetings, it shapes their love through missed connections, absence, and belated realization. This setup subverts the conventions of traditional melodrama while creating an even stronger emotional resonance.
Ultimately, “Failan” is a work that simultaneously embraces opposing elements: excess and restraint, tradition and variation, meeting and absence. It is precisely within this tension and balance that the film creates a special emotional impact, transcending a single point within Korean melodrama.
Male Melodrama, “Failan”
In What Is Melodrama?, Yoo Ji-na defined the typical melodrama as “a romantic film featuring a female protagonist who is tragic, sentimental, and overly emotional—that is, a film primarily aimed at female audiences.” Until the late 1990s, when melodramas featuring male protagonists came to the fore, this definition likely held true quite accurately. Despite subsequent genre variations, the phrase “films primarily targeting female audiences” has largely persisted as a valid description.
However, “Failan” sidesteps this definition. This work unmistakably possesses the character of a male melodrama. Indeed, its reception among male audiences upon release was unusually strong. Some critics labeled the film a ‘male melodrama,’ arguing it perpetuates patriarchal elements. This critique holds some merit. The very premise—that the beautiful, dying Failan devotedly loves Kangjae, a mere third-rate thug, solely because he is her husband—places it squarely within patriarchal narrative traditions.
Similar to the film “Father,” one could argue this is merely the emotional self-gratification of a man who, unable to overcome patriarchy, isolates and oppresses himself. Kang-jae gradually recognizes the existence of the pitiful Failan while simultaneously discovering his own tragedy. Failan’s devotion functions as a device for Kang-jae’s awakening, making it difficult to avoid criticism that the female character is consumed as a narrative tool.
However, this criticism can also be reinterpreted on another level, considering that “Failan” is situated within the genre framework of melodrama. If one views the film not from the perspective of the male gender, but from the universal perspective of humanity, emotional empathy is entirely possible. Melodrama is, by its very nature, the genre of emotion.
Director Song Hae-sung has stated that the reason he chose not to prolong the scene of Kang Jae weeping on the breakwater in the final scene, instead wrapping it up relatively quickly, was to restrain an excess of emotion. However, I view this as a regrettable choice. The virtue of restraint that dominated the first half was, I believe, a sufficient device to make the moment of emotional explosion in the latter half all the more intense.
What is the genre virtue of melodrama? Precisely the excess of emotion. Of course, if that excess is indiscriminately overused without restraint, it would be judged as having made no evolution beyond melodrama. Conversely, however, if the excess of emotion is completely removed, the genre’s identity itself inevitably fades. “Failan” delicately captured men’s social desires and the suppression they face. It was precisely by touching upon this point that it could establish itself as a melodrama resonating strongly with male audiences.
Conclusion
There are clear limitations to unconditionally calling “Failan” a masterpiece. Issues like unresolved patriarchy and repeated exaggerated coincidences remain points of contention. These elements also cast doubt on the work’s completeness.
Nevertheless, “Failan” can be evaluated as a work of monumental significance in the evolutionary process of Korean melodrama. This film significantly restrained the excess of emotion inherent in existing melodramas, yet did not completely abandon that sentiment. Instead of suppressing superficial emotional expression, it chose a method of accumulating deep inner resonance. As a result, even if audiences didn’t shed tears in the theater, they experienced an afterglow that lingered in their hearts for a long time.
Furthermore, “Failan” becomes a crucial turning point on another level. It partially subverted the tradition of female-centered consumption and instead built a thoroughly male melodrama form. This is precisely why this work felt particularly fresh among the variations of existing melodramas.
It is paradoxical yet profoundly significant that a film allowing men to cry freely and find solace emerged not from action or gangster films—genres traditionally perceived as masculine—but within the framework of melodrama, long considered a female genre. Precisely within this paradox, “Failan” remains a work still discussed today, standing as a film that renewed the possibilities inherent in the melodrama genre.
