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Love is a Four-Letter Word
Director's Journal:

Synopsis
Production Info
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Director's Journal

Love is a Four-Letter Word 12min | Docu-Fiction | 16mm
Year of Production: 2000
Writer/Director/Producer: Karen Cho

Director's Journal:
For Love is a Four-Letter Word, I wanted to explore the idea of the camera as omniscient observer. The story is told by Frankie and Derek. Their monologues and on-camera interviews reflect their personal opinions of the status of their relationship. At the same time, I wanted to use the camera to both reflect and undermine what they were saying- thus giving the audience a fuller picture of what is actually going on.

Along side Frankie and Derek's fictional story, I incorporated documentary elements into the film. I interviewed several people about their opinions on love and relationships. These interviews were cut into Frankie and Derek's story with the hopes of rounding-out and further examining the themes of love and relationships.

I also wanted to play with the stereotypes and preconceptions of romance that are instilled into the collective conscience of our society. For this I shot Frankie and Derek in B&W reenactments of stereotypical romantic film scenes. I cut these scenes into the documentary portions of the film as archival footage would be used. My desired result was that the documentary subjects would also appear to be commenting on Frankie and Derek's relationship.

In the end, I'm not certain the film succeeded in answering anything, or taking a stance on love. Furthermore, topics like homosexuality, bisexuality, or open relationships are never explored. I would have liked to have the film more focused and reflective of today's reality.

- Karen Cho