Circle

Precisely why a young girl scratches a circle into the ground with a twig is anyone’s guess.

On the whole, the why of what happens throughout Joung Yumi’s Circle is something of a moot point. However, it is perhaps the implications of the otherwise ambiguous non-narrative that make this one of the filmmakers’ most satisfying shorts yet. Those familiar with Yumi’s other work will recognise much here – from the colourless animation and peculiar rhythms and affected styles of movement in Park Yougeun’s drawings, to the oddly atemporal atmosphere.

The film acts as a stationary observation of a point in space. Around this point, first, the girl draws the circle, and then a multitude of people walking across the screen are compelled to stop and then stand or sit within the confines of the circle. Instigated first by a man in business dress who sits on his briefcase and reads the paper, he’s soon joined by citizens old and young until the girl returns and erases the line, at which point they gradually drift away.

While its story progression is as glacial and apparently inconsequential as the likes of The Waves (2023) or House of Existence (2022), Circle raises more readily accessible questions than Yumi’s other recent films without distracting from her beautiful trademark aesthetic. Here the slightly mannered comportment of the animated characters seems to tie into the compliance that we see on screen as people wordlessly fall into line – or should that be circle? Yumi’s films have an unusual milieu that is singularly her own and her interest in behaviours makes them enormously compelling. Here there feels like more to sink your teeth into than just admiration of exquisite animation.

Director, screenplay: Joung Yumi
Producers: Kim Kihyun
Editing: Joung Yumi, Kim Kihyun
Sound design: Gong Taewon, Kim Hyeongyu
Production company: Match Cut (South Korea)
Venue: Berlinale (Berlinale Shorts)
No dialogue
7 minutes