Dachimawa Lee: The Deceitful Sex

The film Dachimawa Lee was entertaining, yet whilst I was watching the film I felt a bit confused as to how to consume the content. Now a days comedies are less slapstick and over exaggerated and more realistic. Directors usually enjoy finding the humour within real life situations, therefore this film took my by surprise. 

I found the roles of the female characters in the film quite interesting. The overall portrayal of women in the film was more or less negative. Firstly, the Madam Jang, the secret agent, committed treason by falling in love with the Japanese enemy. This characterizes women as easily seduced and desperate for love. The fact that she abandoned her country for love with the enemy depicts her as selfish as well, betraying her country. She herself even states that “the pursuit of happiness becomes higher priority than nation security.” She is very much governed by her emotions. There are many side comments that suggest the idea that women are meschevious, like when Dacimawa Lee says “a beautiful rose has many thorns.” The whole concept of the characters in disguise was interesting as well. The one secret agent that we had thought to be dead, Keum Yeon-ja, was actually in disguise. Her impersonation of another agent again may signify the deception of women. Even at the end I felt unsure as to whether to trust her. I felt that it was not very surprising or coincidental that Ma-ri ended up being the villian. Again, another women who is purely driven by her emotions seeks vengeance for her sister. Meanwhile, she is being unfaithful towards her country. I found it amusing that Ma-ri’s silicone breast implant is what saved her, again the artificiality of women was presented.