IU In Persona- an analysis of 4 pole different characters

IU recently acted in a film called “Persona” which is available on Netflix. Persona is a compilation of four different short films, directed by four different actors. Needless to say, that meant a lot of different roles and characters played by our versatile and talented IU.

I was eagerly waiting for the movie right when I saw the teaser. I couldn’t even pick which movie/character I was most excited for. First off, can I just say HOW different the teasers were from the actual movie? Now that I think about it, the vibe and genre was the same but the actual storyline was completely unexpected, except for the first movie.

I remember seeing an article about IU telling which movie she enjoyed acting in the most. I decided to not read the article and honestly watch the movies and guess it myself. Read till the end to find which one I guessed and which one it really was!

The first film is called Love Set.

 

Love Set is a 16 minute portrayal of a tennis match between two women who have their own needs. To describe it in one word would be-unsettling. IU’s character closely resembled that of Cindy which she played in The Producers. The hair style, the body language and the attitude were eerily similar.

How can someone be so good looking just eating a peach and sitting?

And god I LOVE IT when she plays characters like that. It’s literally perfect and I don’t even know why it suits her so much. But somehow this particular storyline was borderline creepy for me. While I don’t question Cindy’s love for her father I did find her casual body language strange. I didn’t take screenshots but I found the movie to be generally sexually suggestive in some parts, like when the other woman takes the ball out of her side butt. I mean, it’s not something I’d want my younger sibling to see. 

“Don’t make sounds like that in front of other guys” also disturbed me. The way she held on to her fathers back and was dragged around- while I don’t think any of it was particularly wrong, it was the way it was filmed that irked me. Obviously they did it on purpose, and I didn’t see any objective other than to unsettle the audience. But it was still interesting- IU’s perseverance to keep playing even though she was no match for the woman.

Her legs are bleeding and she drags on, playing. In the end- she wins despite losing. So why does it feel that both her character and I am left with a hollow feeling in our stomachs as the film ends? It was still quite interesting to watch, and hearing IU curse in English makes me want to make it my ringtone or alarm. Alas, I can’t.

But one thing that kept coming to my mind was the peach eating scene.

It was shown as a message earlier in the movie and even during the match, so I decided to do some research, and I guess I was right.

But then

The weirdness and smart ambiguity got to me. (this is an edit)

Is IU’s dad really her dad? HEAR ME OUT!

• Iu and Doona know each other from before since Doona is IU’s english teacher
• IU gives a peach seductively and later Doona eats the fruit, at first I thought that Doona is trying to compete with IU, but it is Doona’s subtle way of flirting
• Doona tells IU that if Doona wins, IU needs to end things with her dad. HMM. interesting, like it seems quit being possessive over who your father’s dating…but is that it? And if IU wins, Doona says she’ll end things with her father. But then she says, “just marry your boyfriend instead”. HOLD UP. why is this option given as “instead”? How is THIS a substitute for Doona ending things with her father? Got it? IU looks at the two men, and it seems like the two women are referring to the foreigner since IU gets irritated with him, but why does IU get so flustered like she’s been caught or something? She keeps defending saying “he’s not my boyfriend”  I know this might sound silly, but still. 
• When her father says “don’t make sounds like that with other guys” and IU imitates the sound, I found it weird but let it go, okay maybe this isn’t your typical daughter father relationship. yes it’s not common, but it’s not wrong. maybe Iu’s personality is fun that way and she feels comfortable talking like that with him…but do you see at the end how Doona and IU make the most orgasmic noises ever?
• As the match ends her father says “14 point good shot” as he is happy with Doona’s decision to not marry him. I mean why else would he say that?
• Doona, despite winning makes IU win. Means Doona never actually wanted to win, she never wanted to marry her father. And as Doona walks away, IU should be happy that she’s won, but she looks sad, as if there’s been injustice, and serves the ball for another match.

 

The second story, called Collector , consists of IU as the main character and again, her character doesn’t seem too different from the one in the first movie- except it is.  IU is portrayed as a rebellious girl, a hippie and a free spirit- by definition. Is she really?

When her ‘boyfriend’ says well intentioned  things about him finding women to be more superior than men she questions it. She’s on her phone the entire day, and cheats on him too. Looking at her, I felt, “wow, I wish I could be as powerful as her” but at the same time I knew I didn’t want to do that. IU’s character seemed to be as if she didn’t care. But, boy she did. She wanted every man’s heart, and when I say that I don’t mean in a generic sense. A heart means your everything. She wanted the last bit of a man that would make him alive. Words were not enough for her.

But can she love a man without a heart? What is the point of doing so much for someone to love you when it kills you and you can’t be alive to see the love?

It left me again, unsettled, even shocked. That made me love it even more.

Also I’m a Hindu, and I had no idea Shiva was a god of Yoga! Because he is known better for other things when we talk about his stories. I had to search it up, lol.

This also made me question, was IU incapable of love? Had she ever loved anyone? Did she have a “heart” inside her? And had that man not given her his heart, would he still see himself in the box?

How was the man able to breathe and open the box without a heart? I think it meant that he had no life in him anymore, or maybe that his love wasn’t real or pure. But by giving the heart, he gave away his capability to love too. It’s too confusing and I’m open to any theories anyone has discovered/read anywhere.

Eun is a collector because she collects mens hearts, and most probably these men are men who cheat. Her boyfriend cheats on his ex, and is left heartless in the end.

I also feel like I’ve watched something similar before. Maybe this was an inspired story, or taken from different parts. I remembered White Christmas from Black Mirror and a short movie called Ahalya. It’s not the same but gave me very similar vibes. It’s definitely worth watching so check it out!

The third story, Kiss Burn, was much more fun to watch. “Let’s kill him” says Han-na, played by IU, talking about her friend’s father.

IU displays innocence and disgust at her friend getting hickeys from a stranger at the beach. She even sends off a jealous vibe as she expresses possessiveness over her friend. But it doesn’t take that type of a turn. It’s ironical and interesting. There’s really no need for a theory in this one.

I haven’t seen IU do such a role before, so it was fun to watch. But I feel like it’s not the role that suits her the most.

The fourth story, Walking together At Night, seems like a normal walk taken by two lovers, talking about nothing in particular.

As their casual, soft conversation continues you realise that the girl is dead. Almost towards the end of the story, we come to know she died by killing herself. “Did you die because of me?” He asks. Clearly he loves her. “No, because I was lonely.” This.

This just goes on to show that even if you have friends, and a healthy and happy romantic relationship, even if people love you and talk to you- you can be lonely.

Loneliness and being alone are different things, I know it has been said a million times before. Though sometimes I do think being alone has a lot to do with loneliness in many situations.

IU was lonely from inside. And I am in no way encouraging suicide or saying that suicide is the option. Many of us feel this way. IU felt that her loneliness had reached a tipping point after not being able to find completeness in her despite everything.

I can in a way understand what she felt, as I have felt the same way before. But I also feel that most people have felt like that at least once in their lives.

A friend once told me something really inspiring in context to this, so if you ever feel these thoughts maybe you can remember this.

We were in a party that was being celebrated on the terrace. She and I climbed the rooftop and I peeped down, we were at least 26 floors up and it was scary. “Do you ever feel like dying?” I think  this was my question, I don’t exactly remember. It’s funny because it was random since I wasn’t even that close to her. “Yes but then I just remember that I’m here for a purpose and it’s not time for me to go yet. I have to do something more, that there is something left that I haven’t done yet.” These aren’t her exact words but this was the meaning of she said. It was 2 years back but I still clearly remember the moment because it was such a fresh perspective.

I didn’t like the fourth movie that much, to be honest. Maybe it’s because I was feeling sick so my judgement is biased, but I found the simplicity a little boring. The concept and message however, is great.

So finally, which was the film IU enjoyed acting in the most? If it was the first one, it would probably be because of the acting of the tennis scene. But I doubted it. The second one was HIGHLY possible because I’m sure IU loved the story and character acting. The third one, although I’m sure IU loved acting- did she really enjoy it more than the other three? And the fourth one, I mean it was beautiful, but there wasn’t exactly much scope or challenge in acting. So my bet was the second story, Collector and if not that, then the third one, Kiss Burn. And I was right! IU responded that in terms of just fun, Kiss Burn was the one she enjoyed the most. Here is the link : https://www.allkpop.com/article/2019/04/iu-reveals-which-persona-film-was-her-favorite

It was amazing to see IU perform such versatile roles. And kudos to the directors and screen writers who came up with such interesting stories.

do comment what you thought and any analysis you saw/ of your own! 💓💓