Gangjae (Park Hyuk-kwon) is leading an outwardly happy, inwardly tortuous life. Married, with a high school-aged daughter and a good job, he has achieved everything that society expects of an average middle-class man. But emotionally he is in the process of unraveling, and his well-ordered outer life is starting to show cracks as well.
The plot of A Break Alone is divided between two time periods, and the film shifts restlessly back and forth between them. Ten years in the past, Gangjae meets an attractive young yoga teacher named Siyeon (Yoon Joo) and falls in love with her. They start an affair, which he manages to keep secret. But eventually she starts feeling frustrated and disillusioned with adultery (and love), and decides to marry someone else.
A decade later, Gangjae is still not over her. He has made it part of his weekly routine to visit a building opposite the yoga studio to gaze through a telephoto lens at his former lover. His burgeoning interest in photography is in part just an excuse to secretly take photos of her. He invents business trips in order to follow her around, and eventually goes so far as to sneak into her home.
A Break Alone is the directorial debut of Cho Jae-hyun, a well-known actor who international audiences will remember from the Kim Ki-duk films Crocodile (1996), Bad Guy (2002) and Moebius (2013). Although he appears in this film in only the briefest of cameos, his expertise in acting seems to have helped him behind the camera as well. Lead actor Park Hyuk-kwon, a very talented performer who has most often appeared in supporting roles, is provided plenty of space to showcase his abilities.
There are many moments in the film when the story pauses, and Park is allowed to hold the audience’s attention entirely through his withdrawn but expressive acting.
Cho also made a good choice in casting the role of Siyeon. Selected in an audition, Yoon Joo is not a total newcomer – she appears briefly in the film Wonderful Nightmare, and took leading roles in I’m Feng and Dirty Blood. But in this film Cho is able to bring out qualities in her that distinguish her from the many other young actresses trying to establish themselves in the Korean film industry. Her performance makes Gangjae’s obsession seem, if not normal, at least believable.
One of the most distinctive qualities of A Break Alone is its editing. As the film progresses, we move back and forth quite often between the period early in Gangjae’s marriage when he meets Siyeon, and the present day. Without any obvious signs or tricks (such as different hairstyles, etc.) to visually distinguish between the two time periods, it’s easy to become confused about whether a certain scene is taking place in the present or the past – particularly for viewers who start watching the film without knowing anything about the story.
But this can be seen as a positive as well, because it effectively replicates what is going on in Gangjae’s mind. He’s a person who’s still very much living in the past, and who can become flooded with memories at the slightest provocation. For him too, the past and the present are mixed up in his head.
A Break Alone is a bittersweet film, that is not so much interested in delivering any particular message, but instead creates a memorable portrait of a desperate, lonely middle-aged man.
Not everyone will be able to identify with the main character and his particular set of weaknesses. But the film is told with enough subtlety and wit that viewers can have a lively debate about Gangjae’s actions after watching it.