memory theater
These days, everywhere I go, I often pass buildings under construction. There are not just one or two places being redeveloped. When a space is recognized as private property that should generate more profits, rather than a backdrop to someone’s life, old things lose their place. In a world that does not know how to let old things go, memory and history are underestimated and easily erased. The room
The background of the play is “Rainbow Cinema”, a movie theater that has been closed due to a redevelopment. It’s a place where memories span 40 years and 3 generations, including theater owner Jo Beom-sik, who opened the theater in 1978, his son Jo Han-soo, who inherited the theater from him, and his son Jo Won-woo. But in a world long dominated by multiplexes, few people go there anymore, and the latest films are not shown. The three-generation family aren’t the only ones with an affection for the theater, which eventually went bankrupt unscathed after it endured and endured. Indeed, the theater is a midsummer resting place for Kim Jeong-suk, a neighborhood neighbor, and a valuable workplace for Park Soo-young, a video engineer, and Song Hee-won, a store clerk.
Rainbow Cinema is packed with not only people who normally walk in and out of the theater every day, but also Won-woo, who came from Seoul to help organize the theater, and Tae-ho, a part-time senior who has followed him. It seems that the preparations for closing the business will be warmly in a warm atmosphere, but in reality it is not so smooth. Outwardly, Won-woo and Tae-ho, who are senior-junior, are actually lovers, and it is revealed early on in the play that Won-woo unilaterally left Tae-ho and returned to his hometown without a promise. .
In addition, like the memories of countless people nestled in the ancient theater, the amount of memories accumulated in the relationship between these three generations is not easy. The existence that forms the center of this memory is Won-seok, Won-woo’s younger brother. The gemstone, which is believed to have taken on a life of its own before becoming an adult, is an implicit taboo word in this family and a trigger for the long-running conflict that has engulfed this family. Will the family be able to safely face closing day? Much like a movie theater finds an old movie and starts showing it, their old story starts playing after it’s been dusted off.
Because everyone’s life is a movie
Not all old things are beautiful. Memories that are well organized and piled up in layers are cherished like treasured memories, but some memories scattered like fragments still sting people. The person who is stabbed may be sick for what they are. Eventually you get used to the pain and lose the will to deal with it. The three richest people in the movie theater buried the memories of the shattered gem in their hearts. The conversation cut off in the name of avoiding a bit of pain froze the whole family relationship.
The story of the three generations surrounding the gemstone is central to the play, but the people who come and go to the theater as if they were at home also have their own wounds and stories. Video engineer Soo-young is afraid to make eye contact with people, so she can’t take off her doll mask. Jeong-sook struggles to take care of his dementia-stricken mother. Hee-won’s story doesn’t play a big role compared to the previous ones, but for Hee-won herself, her own story will be the most important. The lives of those who have been cast out of the world are like a movie. For them, the theater serves as a refuge from the world and a place to warm up before stepping out into the world.
Even during the play, they couldn’t honestly express their feelings to each other and bypassed, they only confessed their feelings when it was raining hard and there was a power outage and they couldn’t not see each other properly. The conflict reaches its climax and emotions explode. However, exploding is also a sign that what was blocked will flow again and what has been disconnected will continue again. What they realize as they indulge their hearts is that they had kept their mouths shut until now, so they assumed you would know what I know, or conversely they have jumped to the conclusion that you would never know.
Being honest, dealing with something is hard work. However, just like you can see a rainbow after rain, you must go through this process to find a clue to heal your wounds. Perhaps once the theater containing everyone’s memories collapses, the opportunity will be lost forever. Isn’t the story of those people set in a movie theater before closing day the last movie to be screened at the Rainbow Cinema?
congratulations on closing
After such a stormy dark night and again facing a sunny summer day, they seem much more comfortable. The folks at Rainbow Cinema are shedding long-running stories and entering a lull. Expecting the final screening to be over, they put up a congratulatory message decoration on the wall with the words “Congratulations Closing” written on it. It’s ironic that the words “congratulations on closing” are written on such brightly colored paper. Then when someone finds a rainbow, everyone rushes to see it.
Like a rainbow that appears and disappears for a short time, Rainbow Cinema people’s lives in reality, not in the theater, will soon flow quietly, going back and forth between sadness and joy, pleasure and pain, similar in the past. With a clear mind, scars will reform and misunderstandings will pile up. Because there is no end to life as long as you live. It’s good though. Indeed, those who have seen a rainbow once can expect to see it again one day.
Just like you can’t stop the rain, you can’t remove the zipper. Won-shik, unjustly deceased, cannot come back alive. However, what is clear is that if you are alive, you may encounter the “next moment”. If you’re lucky after the rain, you might see a rainbow and long-lost conversations can resume. Couples who have faced a breakup crisis decide to continue their relationship. In this context, the closure of a business is something to celebrate. The theater is closed, but there will definitely be things going from there. Because in all life a rainbow must appear.
*Photo: Extreme Number
