青春双曲线  DoubleCurveofYouth,HyperbolaeofYouth

Synopsis　　Middle-schoolteacherMyeong-ho(Hwang-hae),whocomesfromapoorfamily,andBu-nam(YangHun),whosefatheristhepresidentofatradingcompany,attendedthesameuniversity.WhenbothmendevelopgastricdisordersBu-namatetoomuchandMyeong-hocouldn'tgetenoughtoeatthedoctorproposesthattheyexchangelifestylesfortwoweeks.Livingineachother'shomes,eachyoungmanfallsinlovewiththeother'ssister,andthetwocouplesgetmarriedinajointweddingceremony.　　Notes　　"Thefilmizationofastagemusical,andthefusionoffilmandmassentertainment"(ChungJong-wha)　　HyperbolaeofYouthlayclaimtothetitleofKorea'sfirstcomedymovie,withacastcomprisingsuchcomicactorsasYangHun,YangSeok-cheon,andKimHee-gap.ItaffordsusaglimpseintothecinematicsensibilityandgenericinterestofHanHyung-mo,whowasthemostcommerciallysuccessfuldirectorofhisday,andfallsbetweenTheHandofDestiny(Unmyeong-uison)andMadameFreedom(Ja-yubu-in)inhisfilmography.Themovietellsasimplestory:abrotherandsisterfromawealthyfamilyfallinlovetheiropposite-sexcounterpartsfromapoorfamily,thusmatureintowell-roundedindividuals,andmakehappymarriages.Inthisbasicsynopsis,eventhefundamentaldifferenceofsocialstatusdoesnotposemuchofanobstacle.Infact,theextenttowhichthefilmstraightforwardlyendowstheimproverishedbrotherandsisterwithpositivevaluesmakesitseemrathersimplistic.However,themovie'smaininterestdoesnotlieinitsstoryortheme.Instead,itconcentratesonmakingthemostofthegenericelementsofcomedyandmusicalinordertomaximizeitsownentertainmentvalue.Thisagendabecomesmanifestlyclearfromthefilm'scharacterizations.Thatis,thetwomaleleadsarecomicallyrenderedasarichman'ssonwhoissickfromeatingtoomuchandapoorman'ssonwhoissickfromnoteatingenough.Musicalelementsarealsointroducedasameansofreinforcingthefilm'sentertainmentvalue.Inthefirsthalf,forinstance,thefilm'smusicaldirectorParkSi-chun,intheroleofthedoctor,accompaniesthenursesonhisguitarastheysingapopsong.Thisscene,whichhasnorelationtotheplot,wasinsertedsolelyforthepurposeofenhancingthemovie'sgenericappealasamusical.ThesameholdstrueforthesceneinwhichKimHee-gapappearsmid-filmasamancarryingawoodenrackonhisbacktosingamedleyofpopularKoreansongs.Suchgenericelementsboostthefilm'sentertainmentvaluewhileinfusingthewholewithacheerfulandupbeatatmosphere.HyperbolaeofYouthmaywellbecalledthefinestfeel-goodmovieofthe1950s.