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| A scene from the film, "Rolling" / Courtesy of Indie Story |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Shim Dal-gi, who has portrayed vulnerable or rebellious teens in a slate of films and TV series such as "Snowball" (2021) and "Juvenile Justice" (2022), shows off her own understated charms in the slice-of-life film "Rolling."
Directed by Kwak Min-seung, the film revolves around 25-year-old Ju-ri (Shim), a college dropout who avoids socializing and stays at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her mother, Young-shim, struggles to keep her gimbap (rice rolls wrapped with seaweed) store open as consumer spending halts amid pandemic measures. One day, Young-shim leaves to take care of her sick mother and asks Ju-ri to take charge of the restaurant.
Ju-ri, who is dependent on delivery food and hesitant about leaving home, slowly rebuilds her life with the help of friendly neighbors and regular customers.
"Rolling" exudes a familiar indie drama aesthetic by proceeding at a slow, unhurried pace that allows the audience to focus on Ju-ri's journey instead of her destination. Beyond Ju-ri's desire to repair her social life, "Rolling" has very little narrative drive. However, it is well-acted and quite entertaining.
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| Actress Shim Dal-gi speaks during a press conference for the film "Rolling" in Seoul, Aug. 17. Courtesy of Indie Story |
Shim gives an intriguing performance as Ju-ri, despite the fact that her character could have been written in better fashion.
"Ju-ri is experiencing a quarter-life crisis. She feels cynical and depressed at home, but I didn't want to put her in the corner. I wanted to make her look more lively and realistic," she said.
"I've never played a character like Ju-ri, who is innocuous and adorable. She doesn't usually overthink things in her life. In my earlier works, I have often portrayed grief, trauma and angst."
The film speaks eloquently on the social issue of how small businesses struggle to stay afloat during the pandemic.
"I wanted to make another film about food. After the pandemic disrupted our lives, I thought about how to combine gimbap with the pandemic. Then I thought of the gimbap restaurant where I regularly dine out and wrote the script based on it," director Kwak said.
"Rolling" is also dedicated to cooking scenes that demonstrate the redemptive power of home-cooked comfort food. Kwak films food scenes with extended close-ups and details the step-by-step process of making gimbap. At first, Ju-ri is bad at rolling gimbap, but her skills improve over time. As she gets through the ups and downs of the pandemic, along with a bad breakup, her delivery food is replaced by home-cooked meals.
The film is a much-needed reminder to step outside, look up and appreciate the tiny pleasures in life.
"Rolling" will hit local theaters on Aug. 25.
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