Once in a Summer

      At first glance, Once in a Summer looks like your typical nostalgic tearjerker aimed at mass audiences. Long before it was released, the distribution rights were sold for US$4 million to Japan, where films of the pure love genre have performed very well. The film was also co-written by Kim Eun-Hee and Kim Eun-Sook, who've collaborated on several successful Korean dramas. And the biggest factor of all: it stars Korean heartthrob Lee Byung-Hun as a romantic lead. The film looks like just another another formulaic attempt to cash in on collective nostalgia - a type of film that Korean Cinema already has far too many of. However, despite looking like an obvious product for the masses, Once in a Summer is actually not all that bad.

     Once in a Summer opens in modern day at a television station where a writer tries to save her job by claiming to have booked famed professor Park Suk-Young (played by Lee in gray hair makeup), who was once her professor. After seeking him out, he agrees to go on the show if she can find a woman named Seo Jung-In (played by Soo Ae). It turns out Suk-Young (played without gray hair by Lee) was a politically apathetic student in 1969 South Korea. To get out of working for his father's company, he followed his left-wing radical classmates to a rural town to work for the summer as a volunteer. There, he met Jung-In, the local librarian who was treated especially harshly by the mayor because of a past crime her family committed, making her the black sheep of the village. Suk-Young falls in love at first sight, but Jung-In requires a little romancing before she can return the affection. But even once they've finally fallen in love, her family's past and the politically-turbulent time come to tear the happy couple apart.

     Once in a Summer may just be another way for Korean filmmakers to cash in on nostalgia, but credit director Jo Geun-Sik and his screenwriters for using it as more than just a way to create tragedy. Little bits of period detail, such as the small town's attempt to install electricity, an outdoor public movie screening, and the villagers gathering to watch the Armstrong moon landing, effectively place the viewer into the mood of the times. While the past does end up being used to create tragedy, Jo manages to establish a nice balance for most of the way - at least enough that people won't criticize him for whitewashing history. Despite that, the use of the Park Chung-Hee regime to create a fictional "pure love" story seems contrived by any means, and Once in a Summer is sadly no exception.

     Luckily, Lee works extra hard to show why he's one of Korea's best actors. The role of Suk-Young is not a stretch for Lee, who gave a chilling performance in 2005's A Bittersweet Life. However, he manages to exude enough boyish charm to make him an easy character to root for, despite being a few years too old for the role. Soo Ae does fine with her character, who is so innocent that she can't even bring herself to read a sex scene from a novel for the village elders. Soo does transition between lovable and tragic modes fairly well, but Lee's is really the performance that keeps the movie going.

     The problem with Once in a Summer isn't its somewhat uncomfortable mix of innocent love and political turmoil, but really how formulaic the whole exercise is. Fix two attractive stars together, put in touching melodrama, a bit of violence, some tragedy, and a movie is concocted. There's lots of tears, people getting slapped around, and even an embrace in the rain. On the other hand, Jo does try to tone down the romance portion, which can be a good thing. But sometimes a formula is there for a reason, and the romance in Once in a Summer feels too platonic for it to make the type of impact that the film seems to think it did. The film is entertaining, the stars are attractive, and they have suitable chemistry to make the romance work, but when the audience doesn't feel the romance, they can't get involved when tragedy strikes. It's rare that I wish for a Korean melodrama to be less subtle, but this is one of those times.

A Millionaire's First Love

Kang Jae-kyung (Hyun Bin) is your typical rich kid. He is arrogant, drives sporty cars, attends the big clubs and rides through school corridors on his motorcycle. As his 18th birthday approaches, he is set to inherit his grandfather's fortune, but first Jae-kyung is required to transfer to a new school in Gangwon Province and graduate. Until then all access to his penthouse, cottage and credit cards are denied. Should he fail to graduate or drops out then he loses everything. If he wishes to give up, he will only receive 0.1% of his over-all inheritance. With this in mind, he heads out to the countryside, to a small town in which daily life is far removed from what he is used to.

Shortly after settling into his new home, he meets 19-year-old Choi Eun-hwan (Lee Yeon-hee), who happened to run into him back in Seoul. They don’t exactly hit it off; he’s far too stubborn and cool for school. Conversely, she sees hope for him and sets out to make him see it for himself. They eventually draw closer, thanks to a set of coincidences and school projects. Jae-kyung learns of Eun-hwan's terminal disease and does what he can to make her happy. He even tells his lawyer that he would give up his inheritance so he could buy an orphanage for her.

One day during the rehearsal of a play at school, Jae-kyung notices that the play is resembles the incident that had happened in his life. He recalls a childhood memory of being at the orphanage at Gangwon, where he had met Eun-hwan and had made a promise to return in ten days. He finds Eun-hwan and tells her that he did not remember her or his promise because his parents had died in a car accident on that same day and his memories were thus erased. He tells her he loves her and they kiss.

The day of the play comes and Jae-kyung asks his classmate to trade places as a favor; him as the Colonel rather than the maid. He goes to Eun-hwan's side and she asks him if he could put on the socks he bought her earlier. While they are dancing, she feels a sudden pain and goes backstage much to Jae-kyung's worry. However, she returns. Eun-hwan's mother has also come to see the show.

Later, they celebrate the success of the play. The couple sit on a swing, Eun-hwan tells Jae-kyung "I love you" and that she's sleepy. Before falling asleep, she tells Jae-kyung to wake her up after 3 minutes. Soon after, the first snow comes.

On their graduation day, Eun-hwan receives the Award of Friendship but does not attend the ceremony as she never woke up. A bouquet of white flowers sits in her seat instead, next to Jae-kyung's chair. He stays for a while and walks outside carrying the flowers. His grandfather's lawyer comes, congratulates him and tells him that the inheritance is now his.

Later, Jae-kyung builds a house with numerous windows in memory of Eun-hwan. He states that after 50 first snows hit its windows, they will meet again

My Girl and I

My Girl and I (Hangul: 파랑 주의보; lit. A Heavy Seas Warning) is a 2005 South Korean film directed by Jeon Yun-su. It is a remake of the Japanese film Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World, adapted from the novel Socrates in Love by Kyoichi Katayama.

The film starts in modern-day Korea where we see Kim Su-ho (Cha Tae-hyun) return to his hometown after ten years to attend a reunion with his high school friends. He sadly strolls as he hears a female voice in his head calling out his name.

The next scene shows us Su-ho's three friends celebrating and talking about Su-ho. They doubt that he'll attend their reunion because he apparently hasn't gotten over some girl. It is said that on that day of their reunion, it is the death anniversary of a girl named Bae Su-eun (Song Hye-kyo). To everyone's surprise, Su-ho enters and warmly greets his friends.

After celebrating, the four friends go to a lighthouse where Su-ho's friend shouts, "Bae Su-eun, my friend's brain is small but is filled with endless thoughts of you. Please let my friend go." Su-ho starts to cry.

The next scene is a flashback wherein a younger Su-ho is rescued from drowning by a pretty girl. Her pager gets lost in the process of rescuing him but she just walks away. Su-ho then wakes up and thinks that his friends saved him from drowning.

The next scene leads us to a music class. Su-ho and his classmates sing in chorus. He sang normally just like the other students but was distracted when his classmate, Bae Su-eun started staring at him. Su-ho is confused. Su-ho's friend says Su-eun always stares at him in class. Su-ho starts to think that Su-eun may actually be interested in him but was not.

Su-ho and Su-eun pass by in the hallway. Su-ho tries to walk away when Su-eun called him. She asks him to buy her a croquette which surprises Su-ho. He says that if he and Su-eun ate together, other people might think that they are dating and cause trouble. Still they eat together, and the other students notice.

Soon the captain of the judo club who had his eyes set on Su-eun finds Su-ho. He threatens to hurt Su-ho who immediately denies dating her. Su-eun passes by and when the captain asks, she quickly replies that they are indeed dating. The captain throws Su-ho down. Su-ho's friends arrived to rescue him and they escape by bike.

Su-ho and Su-eun stay by the boardwalk near a lighthouse. Su-eun hints to Su-ho that she saved him but he fails to understand. She asks him to replace her pager. They watch the sunset together.

Su-ho then walks Su-eun home and she writes her beeper number on a pomegranate for she was afraid her strict father would find out. Although her beeper was lost, she could still receive and leave messages. That night, they confess their feelings for each other.

The next day, Su-ho is called out of class because his grandfather supposedly collapses. He quickly goes to his grandfather's but finds him well. It turns our he faked illness so that he could talk to Su-ho. Su-eun arrives bringing Su-ho's bag. Su-ho's grandfather shares his story.

When he was young, Su-ho's grandfather joined the army. He was separated from his first love, Soon-im. He left her a necklace to remember him by.

Years pass and he becomes an undertaker. He prepares a funeral for Soon-im's husband. They could not even say a word to each other and soon he married another woman, Su-ho's grandmother.

Su-ho then realizes that he loves Su-eun and he wishes for her to be his destiny so that they would not suffer the same fate as his grandfather. Using a payphone, Su-ho left a message on Su-eun's pager. In it he said that he wished she could be his destiny, completely unaware that she was behind him until she replied, "Me too."

From that day on, Su-ho and Su-eun officially became a couple.

Su-ho's friends propose an overnight stay in Fog Island. As Su-ho and Su-eun arrived together at the pier, he finds out that his friends tricked him so that he and Su-eun would have some time alone. Su-eun seemed mad but then she herself bought two tickets to Fog Island.

On the island their love deepens even more. They share their first kiss.

The next day, Su-eun faints. Su-ho rushes her to the hospital, visiting her every day. What he thought was just simple anemia turns out to be terminal leukemia. Her last wish is to return to their island.

Another woman also had a last wish before she died—Soon-im. She wished to be reunited with her first love, Su-ho's grandfather. He even prepared her funeral and was reunited with his first love, the woman he had loved for 50 years.

One day, when Su-ho visited the hospital, Su-eun expresses her wish and he shows her two ferry tickets. On the day of their departure, a typhoon prevents the ferries from running. Su-ho desperately tries to convince the authorities to let them travel.

As he argues with the management, Su-eun knows it is her time. As he apologizes to her, she collapses onto him.

In the present, Su-ho returns to Fog Island and finds Su-eun's bag. Her diary entry reveals that she had planted seeds on the hill during their visit. The flowers will be her gift to him.

Su-ho goes to the hill, finding it covered with purple flowers.

Sad Movie

  

     Imagine a film in which likeable characters encounter life-altering problems, struggle to overcome them, and then seem to actually make some headway, only to have all their hopes eventually dashed in a swift and brutal fashion. If you can do that, you'll have some inkling of what Sad Movie is all about. Director Kwon Jong-Gwon (S Diary) assembled a star-studded cast for this ensemble piece that more than lives up to its melancholic title. Despite being upfront about its content, Sad Movie isn't a melodrama in the conventional sense. In fact, the majority of the film plays out as a cute, consistently funny romantic comedy, a fact that only amplifies the sense of betrayal and/or shock many viewers will feel by story's end.

     Rather than focus on one driving plotline, the film is a collection of four stories that all intersect at some point, although they remain basically unrelated. First off, there's Jin-Woo (Jung Woo-Sung of A Moment to Remember), a handsome, noble, but lunkheaded firefighter dating a sign language interpreter named Su-Jung (Im Su-Jung of A Tale of Two Sisters). It looks like the two are ready to take the next big step in their relationship, but Jin-Woo's unwillingness to give up his dangerous profession and his occasional obliviousness to Su-Jung's needs keeps derailing any plans for wedding bells between the two.

     Su-Jung lives with her sister, the cheerful Su-Eun (Shin Min-Ah of A Bittersweet Life). Although she provides the occasional moral support for her sister and "brother-in-law," Su-Eun has problems of her own. While working at a theme park as a Raggedy Ann-like Snow White, she falls in love with a portrait painter named Sang-Gyu (Lee Ki-Woo). The only problem is that Su-Eun is a deaf mute with a scar on the side of her cheek, facts which prevents her from approaching Sang-Gyu without wearing her oversized mask and costume. With the help of her ridiculously cute co-workers, the Seven Dwarves, Su-Eun hopes to overcome her shyness and connect with the handsome artist.

     Then there's Ju-Yung (Yeom Jung-Ah), a working mother whose commitment to her job causes a rift between her and her lonely son Hui-Chan (Yeo Jin-Goo). Things begin to change when Ju-Yung is caught in a car accident and sent to the hospital. While his mother is laid up in a hospital bed, Hui-Chan stumbles upon his mother's diaries and begins to learn the truth about his conception, birth, and early childhood. Soon, he begins to bond with his mother, just as she discovers that she's suffering from cancer. 

     Along the way, Hui-Chan crosses paths with Ha-Seok (Cha Tae-Hyun of My Sassy Girl), an unemployed shlub who makes extra money as a human punching bag for a local boxer. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Suk-Hyun (Son Tae-Yung) is sick of her dead-end job as a cashier and when Ha-Seok's credit card is declined at her place of employment, she realizes she's tired of waiting for her boyfriend to grow up and promptly dumps him. Ha-Seok begs her to give him a three month grace period and heads off seeking steady employment. After a chance encounter with a woman breaking up with her boyfriend, Ha-Seok hatches a scheme to start a "Separation Agency" that will break up relationships when one party is too scared to do it face-to-face. His wild idea quickly turns into a lucrative business, giving Ha-Seok hope that he'll finally win his girlfriend back.

     At face value, Sad Movie is a collection of tried-and-true formulas. There's the couple with commitment issues, the shy girl caught up in a "Meet Cute" scenario with the boy of her dreams, the mother-son terminal illness tearjerker, and the gimmicky, high concept romantic comedy all on display in Sad Movie. While it's arguable that each story could stand on its own, it's perhaps wise that the filmmakers decided to intercut among the four. Not only does the decision make for a more involving film, but it also ensures that each storyline doesn't wear out its welcome.

     Despite what the title suggests, Sad Movie is a consistently funny film. It has all the makings of a light, fluffy romantic comedy, but to its credit, it's a thoroughly enjoyable one. That's not to say that the film isn't full of emotion (as is the case with the mother-son cancer storyline), but much of Sad Movie is anything but sad or depressing. Ha-Seok's unflappable dedication to his new job, Hui-Chan's kiddy antics, Su-Eun's internal snarky commentary, and Jin-Woo's clueless behavior all provide ample chuckles throughout the picture. What stands out most about the film is how intensely likeable the all-star cast is, a quality that allows the viewer to immediately get involved in the story and hope things will work out for the best.

     And that's the trick being played on the audience in Sad Movie. After more than an hour of warming the heart and tickling the funny bone of its audience, Sad Movietakes a melodramatic turn for the worse. As the saying goes around LoveHKFilm.com, IT ALL GOES TO HELL! Everything that can go wrong does go wrong for our heroes in brutally swift succession. Considering all the goodwill the film has accrued up until that point, when all the gloom and doom is handed out, it feels like a kick to the chest. Although there were some tears shed by the audience, this reviewer was dry-eyed, mainly out of shock, as the film proceeded to end on perhaps the lowest note possible.

     To be fair to the filmmakers, in addition to the title, the storylines themselves do actually give audiences a clue as to what will transpire. A man unwilling to give up his dangerous job, a mother afflicted with cancer, a girl too shy to show her face to the boy she has a crush on, and a guy trying to win back his girlfriend who dumped him all seem like recipes for disaster in varying degrees. But still, with the filmmakers unceremoniously pulling the rug out from under the viewer after all that positive build-up, the ending ultimately begs the question, "Why?" Just to be different? 

     In some ways, Sad Movie can be read as a send-up of the various clichés that typify melodramas and romantic comedies. By dashing the audience's expectations, perhaps the filmmakers want to emphasize that in real life, there are no guarantees for a happy ending. While such genre-tweaking innovation can be admired, the execution of the ending seems a bit overblown. Truthfully, three of the endings aren't too devastating, but the final one, the one that serves as Sad Movie's capper, is a little too over the top, as if the filmmakers were purposely trying to elicit tears. That's not to say that Sad Movie should have had a gloriously happy ending. Such a climax would have felt fake to be sure, but something more bittersweet, and ending with a little more light in the darkness might have felt slightly more satisfying.

     But having said all that, the fact remains that Sad Movie is an entertaining ride up until the quadruple sad ending. Fans of My Sassy Girl will be delighted to see Cha Tae-Hyun again, as the actor nearly steals the show from his equally famous co-stars. The other actors do well with their characters with Shin Min-Ah and child actor Yeo Jin-Goo being particular standouts. On the basis of the intense likeability of the characters, the mostly humorous content, and the deft juggling of the various storylines, Sad Movie definitely merits at least one viewing. Repeat viewings, however, might be a challenge. So be forewarned: no matter how happy this movie gets, when the filmmakers say the title is Sad Movie, they aren't kidding around.

My Sassy Girl

The oddest thing about Jae-young Kwak’s “My Sassy Girl” is that its entire premise of a young, 20-something woman acting outrageous and going against the norm of how a “young woman” is supposed to behave is not, well, all that outrageous. Perhaps in Korean society, which takes its cue from the closed and internalize structure of Japanese culture, the Girl character played by Ji-hyun Jun might be “out there.” To everyone else she just comes across as a free-spirit and not the 10,000 pound elephant squatting in the middle of the living room that characters in the movie make her out to be.

“My Sassy Girl” begins innocently enough with Kyun-woo, a 20-something college student waiting for the subway after some drinks with the boys. That’s when he encounters a 20-something girl (or young woman, actually) who is obviously very drunk. Kyun-woo, seeing that the girl is unbalanced and standing too close to the edge of the tracks, quickly pulls her away, probably saving her life. Later in the subway car, the girl causes a scene, but not before turning to Kyun-woo and calling him “Honey,” thereby implicating him in her problems (or at least in the other passengers’ eyes). After injecting himself into the Girl’s life, Kyun-woo starts to fall for her, but that’s easier done than, well, surviving it.

Ji-hyun Jun is the titular Sassy Girl, who goes nameless throughout the movie. Even when we meet her family and parents, we still have no idea what her name is. The movie is supposed to be modeled after a real story about a “sassy girl” that appeared in serialized form on the Internet. Regardless, Ji-hyun Jun (“The Uninvited”) is the only real reason to watch this movie. “My Sassy Girl” is a comedy, and there are some very funny moments in it, but it’s Ji-hyun who gives the film its heart and soul. As the tough girl with a heart of gold, she is nearly flawless. Even when she kicks and punches at the men in her life, she still comes across as utterly charming and incapable of doing any wrong. You will be smitten by the young lady’s performance.

Tae-hyun Cha (Kyun-woo) on the other hand mistakes making a permanently constipated face for acting. Both actors look to be in their late teens to early ’20s, but they’re playing mid-20-somethings, and it doesn’t quite work. They’re much too young for their roles (a rather odd “problem” with actor and their roles, to be sure). “My Sassy Girl” works best when it inserts oddball scenes like Kyun-woo’s dramatic but surreal interpretations of the Girl’s many scripts. You see, the Girl has delusions of being a writer, and forces Kyun-woo to read all of her scripts, threatening him with physical violence if he doesn’t like them. As Kyun-woo reads the scripts, the scenes play out like flights of fantasy in his head.

Unfortunately all the credentials the movie builds up, and even the charm of Jun, can’t save the film once it falls into the kiss-of-death that is Asian Melodrama. The movie goes downhill very fast, the laughs cease completely and the movie struggles mightily toward that final, oh-so predictable ending. Jun’s Girl was so good, so tough and yet so vulnerable, that the movie could have kept its laughs and still driven its point home. Instead, it completely abandoned what it had built up for the last hour and a half to give us a sappy ending.

“My Sassy Girl” is a good movie and I suppose it might have been hard to sustain its superior beginning and middle. By movie’s end, the title should have been changed to “My Sappy Film”. But as the saying goes, it was good while it lasted.

Jae-young Kwak (director) / Ho-sik Kim (screenplay)
CAST: Tae-hyun Cha …. Kyun-woo
Ji-hyun Jun …. The Girl

Windstruck

The film stars Jun Ji-hyun as Officer Yeo Kyung-jin, an ambitious young female police officer serving on the Seoul police department. One day while chasing a purse snatcher, she accidentally captures Go Myung-woo (played by Jang Hyuk), a physics teacher at an all-girls school, who was actually trying to catch the thief. Later, Myung-woo discovers the stolen purse, but just as he picks it up, Kyung-jin spots him and tries to arrest him again. Kyung-jin is then given the job of escorting Myung-woo through a dangerous district, only to be distracted when she tries to break up a meeting between Russian Mafia and Korean gangsters. With Myung-woo handcuffed to her, Kyung-jin almost single-handedly brings down the two rival gangs (although she is helped when she accidentally causes the groups to start shooting at each other).

The first half of the film, told from Myung-woo's point of view, details the couple's growing attraction and love for each other, which climaxes with a trip to the countryside where Myung-woo tells Kyung-jin that if he were ever to die, he wanted to come back to earth as the wind. Soon after, he is almost killed in a freak automobile accident, but Kyung-jin saves his life.

The film takes a turn into the fantasy genre in its second half after Myung-woo is accidentally shot and killed by another officer (although the situation is such that Kyung-jin thinks that it was her shot that killed him) as Kyung-jin chases after a criminal. Kyung-jin falls into a suicidal depression over his death and attempts to kill herself several times, almost succeeding when she throws herself off a building, only to be saved when a giant balloon floats under her. Soon after, she experiences visitations from Myung-woo, who appears as the wind, sending her messages and, at one point, he even appears in her dreams in order to give her the will to live after she is nearly shot to death by a criminal.

Ultimately the film follows a similar path set out by the American film Ghost with Myung-woo and Kyung-jin communicating and sharing one final gesture of love before he moves on to the afterlife. Myung-woo said that he will whisper, when she hears him whisper in the wind, she will meet someone with a soul like him. Myung-woo told Kyung-jin that he will always be beside her inside a book with a photo left by Myung-woo in the restaurant before he rushed to meet Kyung-jin who was chasing the insane criminal.

In the first half of the film, Myung-woo told that his only memory of high school was his high school trip. The book and the photo is found and returned to Kyung-jin in the police station. The photo showed that on Myung-woo's trip, Kyung-jin was nearby. This proved Myung-woo's "I'm always beside you" was true to Kyung-jin. Kyung-jin rushed out to locate the finder of the book, ultimately ending up in the train station, where she is saved by Cha Tae-hyun's character (credited as The Guy). Myung-woo whispered that The Guy is the one with the soul like him. Kyung-jin whispers that "he is always beside her."

My Little Bride

My Little Bride is such a sweet, little film that gets the credit for my present addiction towards Kdramas. It was a huge hit and is one of the most watched movies by the Non-Korean audience. I love it and it fills me with exuberance every time I watch it!!

Kim Rae Won is a wannabe playboy, fresh out from college and Moon Geun Young is still in high school. Both of them are best friends since childhood. They are forced to get married due to family pressure and then starts their journey towards dealing with this new relation between them and realizing the love they always had but were oblivious towards it. Also, our heroine hides this thing from her school mates, which make the things more interesting for us. And yeah, she even has a crush on one of the boys there.

The movie is cute beyond words and the age gap between the leads never looks weird and of course it’s not very large. Together, Kim Rae Won and Moon Geun Young set off such sparks, that the strength of their chemistry alone is enough to make you love this film. The movie is full of many romantic and cute moments. All the characters make you feel warm. I cannot say much about the music, but I liked the song that is played in the end credits. Marriage of convenience is one of my darling topics and this film shows it beautifully. The day to day life of the persons, who never treated each other romantically but now live under the same roof, is filmed with much detailing and good pace. The movie binds you with its simple charm, its immensely likeable characters, and the intrinsic humor in the writing. The direction is really good.

My Little Bride has a lot of heart and the emotional part is attached with the script naturally and effectively. You feel with the characters.

Kim Rae Won is amazing in this role, perfectly balancing the immature, childlike behavior and the mature husband part. He is the kind of actor, the more you see him, the more you like him. He has a lot of warmth attached to his acting. Moon Geun Young is brilliant in this role, showing the cuteness and dilemma of getting married so early. They both share an adorable camaraderie. Rest of the supporting cast perfectly compliments the leads.

It’s a movie that wins you with its sweet, heartwarmng moments that will surely bring a smile to your face. I felt disappointed when the film ended as I wanted it to go on forever….