The Peter Pan Formula

THE PETER PAN FORMULAStoryline reviewThis is about a student named Han Soo who has led a hard life with his mother. She raised him by herself. The fathers whereabouts are a mystery or why they aren't together. At school he is the best swimmer on the swim team with many trophies and metals. We really don't know much about his school life other than that.One day his mother attempted to do away with herself. She leaves a note for her son that she can't take the emptiness of her life anymore along with his fathers contact information. She ends up in the hospital from the failed attempt in a semi comatose state. He leaves the swim team to take care of her in the hospital.While at the hospital he sees a woman who's taking care of her relative patient across from them. One night he sees her sneak out into the woods and have sex. This triggers his sexual awakening at the worst time in his life. What he really needs is to feel cared for. But when the new married woman neighbor decides to help him with this problem, she does manually. But he has to keep his eyes shut and she won't look at him. He begs with her to sleep with him but she won't.As the situation goes from bad to worse for him, the mounting hospital bills and the debt collectors show up. He sells his mothers jewelry but it isn't enough money. His trophies and metals were not able to be sold for cash. He decides to rob connveince stores to help make ends meet. But will this be enough? What happens when he contacts his father? Will his father help him? Or will his father walk away? Will his mother get better?CommentsYes, there are some sex scenes in this. I think that they were done well given the subject matter and as they tried to portray the actual struggle that the character went through.I gave this four stars instead of five stars because of the strange ending. I couldn't really understand if the last scenes were a dream or not.The actors did a great job with this storyline that was heartbreaking to watch. It is one that I may watch a few more times to see if I missed anything important. Maybe there are some clues that I missed the first time that will give me more insight to the ending. Happy shopping.THERE'S A DRAMA FOR THAT

In pop-psychology terms, "Peter Pan Syndrome" refers to an adult who does not wish to grow-up. While not recognized as an official mental disorder, there are many who prefer the carefree life of childhood over the demands and responsibilities of being an adult.Han-soo is not quite in those circumstances. Although he is the champion of his school's swim team, he is not satisfied with the life of an athlete and quits the swim team to pursue other interests. Soon, however, Han-soo is thrust into the roll of bread winner and care-taker when his mother fails in a suicide attempt, and the insurance company refuses to pay her medical bills because her injuries are self-inflicted. Hospital bills and other debts are pilling up, and Han-soo is unsure what to do. He takes the easy road out, robbing local stores for the cash he needs to survive.But life is more than survival, and one thing Han-soo desperately needs is comfort and the ability to feel safe and cared for. He tries to find those things in a relationship with the woman next door, In-hee, a married woman twice Han-soo's age. In-hee feels pity for Han-soo's situation and offers him manual sexual relief but only if he keeps his eyes closed the entire time. This only conflicts Han-soo further, as in his awakened sexuality he begins to massage his mother a bit too intimately, and at the same times fantasizes about killing her so that he might finally be free.There are several other plots intermingled in "The Peter Pan Formula," such as Han-soo's meeting with a young woman who also cares for a mother in a coma and has found her own way of meeting the medical bills, and a side story/romance involving the neighbor woman In-hee's sick daughter, as well as Han-soo's search for his father, but the main focus is on Han-soo's coming of age, of a child being forcibly thrust into the adult world, and how he deals with that. Han-soo has an adult body but is not mature enough to deal with the situations he finds himself in."The Peter Pan Formula" is a decent film taking on an interesting story. Director Chang-ho Cho is making his feature film debut here, and he also wrote the screenplay. The main weakness of his production is trying to jam too much into the story. There are two many distracting side-stories, too many characters forced in. Han-soo's father could have been left out entirely, as could have been a side story involving the swim team coach. A tighter, more focused storyline would have done wonders.On Ju-Wan, playing Han soo, does a great job as a portrait of teenage angst and conflicting desires. On one hand, he wants the pleasures of adulthood, but on the other hand he wants the security and comfort of not having to make decisions. His innocence is slowly stripped away by his circumstances."The Peter Pan Formula" has its issues but is a good flick overall. This is a film strictly for the Film Festival crowd who appreciate this kind of intimate portrait. Aside from its sexual themes, which are many, like another Korean film Teacher's Pet "The Peter Pan Formula" is not an overt or sexual film in and of itself.