Intruders

Noh Young-seok charmed Festival audiences in 2008 with Daytime Drinking, a droll and disarming comedy of errors that won widespread critical praise, as well as comparisons to the early works of Jim Jarmusch. With Intruders, the filmmaker combines a similar tone of gentle absurdity with an atmosphere of subtle, slow-burn suspense, and situates his narrative in a setting that has so frequently served as a site of cinematic misadventure: a cabin in the woods.

Hoping to avail himself of some peace and quiet to put the finishing touches on his latest script, a taciturn young screenwriter (Jun Suk-ho) arranges to stay at the rural bed and breakfast owned by his producer's family. With the lodge closed to patrons for the winter, he'll suffer precious few distractions — or so he believes. Inevitably, a carload of obnoxious would-be guests arrives, unaware of the off-season closure and eager to take advantage of his reluctant hospitality. He soon finds himself having to contend with several more unwelcome visitors — including a talkative ex-con, an unscrupulous police officer, and a pair of possibly murderous woodsmen — as his secluded getaway becomes a darkly comic ordeal with surprising geopolitical ramifications.

Viewers familiar with Noh's debut feature will find much to delight in his follow-up, which continues to demonstrate his unique talent for understated whimsy in a story that raises the dramatic stakes on Daytime Drinking's boozy sojourn. Newcomers will discover a filmmaker who has set himself apart even within one of the world's most vibrantly inventive national cinemas.

GIOVANNA FULVI