Afternoon Class
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TITLE “Afternoon Class” by Seoro Oh*
STUDIO/SCHOOL ChungKang College
FILM REVIEW by Leo Barton
We all know it well. Whether it be in a meeting, lecture or afternoon class, if the temperature is slightly too high, the topic slightly too dry and our previous night’s sleep not quite enough our head becomes heavy, our eyelids flicker and eventually, inevitably, we drop off into sleep.
Afternoon Class grabs this simple theme and runs with it—playing with the surreal divide between sleep and waking life as our protagonist sits on the flimsy division between them.
Visually, this works wonders. Filmmaker and animator Seoro Oh revels in the freedom the smudge between reality and dream provides—shifting, morphing and crafting surreal forms out of a mundane classroom setting. One standout moment for me in this regard comes near the very beginning, as our protagonist’s head becomes heavy. Oh’s decision to represent this metaphorically by morphing the student’s head into bowling balls, brick walls, overflowing kegs and other weighty objects perfectly captured that feeling. In fact, it somehow encapsulated such a specific feeling so precisely that it cast my mind back to my secondary-school afternoon biology class where such a fatigue-induced loss of balance was frequent.
Beyond this one moment, the film also jumps between a handful of distinct but perfectly complimentary styles. These slowly take us from observing the sleepy student to a first-person perspective as they drift off-followed by the ensuing dream. These moments continued Oh’s uncanny ability to articulate complex sensations. Yet, impressive as the new images and styles were, they failed to really move the film anywhere new. And this is, for me, where the film lacks a real kick.
Running wild with visualising the concept of boredom unfortunately leave little groundwork—at least in this case—for mental stimulation. As such, I couldn’t help but feel that my brief four minutes with the film dragged precisely because they served to relentlessly reinstate and repeat one inherently banal moment we all experience in life. Sure, not every short film places mental stimulation or thought provocation on its checklist—but for me provoking lasting thoughts is the backbone of memorable experiences across the arts.
On a more personal level, I couldn’t help but chuckle when I realised the film was completed as a graduation film for the South Korean ChungKang College. After studying filmmaking in Korea myself, I bore witness to countless assignment projects levying the theme of the boring classroom—far more than I experienced during my time studying cinema in the UK. As such, it conjured up some pleasant memories of old classmates, but also left me with the familiar question of “don’t film students have anything more interesting to talk about”—a statement which, of course, is meant in the most constructive way possible.
Despite the lack of depth or engagement through a weighty topic, Afternoon Class displays Seoro Oh’s impressive talents for creative design, captivating animation and empathy-inducing execution. And considering that all of the fantastic images and moments found in this short piece come from a confined topic, I’m excited to see what Oh’s animation could bring to a much more extensive and conceptually engaging topic.
“Afternoon Class displays Seoro Oh’s impressive talents for creative design, captivating animation and empathy-inducing execution. And considering that all of the fantastic images and moments found in this short piece come from a confined topic, I’m excited to see what Oh’s animation could bring to a much more extensive and conceptually engaging topic”
In short, Afternoon Class is a oneiric experience—perfectly encapsulating the surreal experience of being half way between wakeful life and dreams. However due to a lack of provocative content under the colourful surface, the film also somehow manages to stimulate our in-built response to dreaming; to forget them once we wake up.
LEO BARTON is a filmmaker and freelance writer keen to explore the expansive definition of “cinema”—from traditional narrative filmmaking to abstract VR experiences. Working within the collective audio-visual platform Cinema Not Cinema he endeavours to produce, distribute and discuss an array of cinematic works, drawing the expansive fringes of Cinema together in one place.
